Zero Tolerence
by The Paper Wolf
Summary: A champion figure skater finds out she is a mutant, and ends up with the X-Men. Why does Kurt feel so connected to her? What kind of powers does she have? Well, there's only one way to find out! KurtxOc Rated T to be safe!
1. Zero Tolerence Part 1

Wolf: Someone challenged me to write this, so here it is! Project Shadow!

Scott: Aren't you working on a digimon story? Why are you working on this one? It doesn't make sense, wolf.

Kitty: If someone offers Wolf a challenge to write a story, she'll put all other stories on hold until she meets the challenge.

Wolf: You got that right! If I get a challenge from a friend on something, I'll drop everything I'm doing and go for the challenge! I don't know why, but it's what I like to do.

Kurt: I hope you get through vith zis one, Wolf. I don't like to be ignored.

Wolf: I'll try my best, Kurt! Just keep Logan off my back, and we'll get through this as quickly and painlessly as possible. But you have to do something for me in return.

Kurt: **raises fuzzy brow at Wolf** Vat iz zat?  
>Wolf: <strong>grins and whispers in Kurt's ear<strong>

Kurt: 0oO Vhy do I have to do that?

Wolf: That's the deal. Take it or leave it.

Kurt: **Gulps and stands in front of the readers** Zuh Paper Volf does NOT own Wolverine and Ze X-Men. She just owns Allyce and whatever ozer characters that may end up in the story that shouldn't be zere.

Wolf: **Pats Kurt on the head** Good boy, now on with the story!

Chapter One: Zero Tolerance Part One

_I hate feeling like this!_

_There's got to be a better way!_

_Tell me it's to use my heart,_

_and not my eyes!_

_Is there something more,_

_than what I've been handed?_

_Will I ever get to see the ending to my story?_

December 1st 1:15 pm New York...

A young lady roughly around the age of 19 sat inside her room with her laptop in front of her. She stood to be about 5'5'', with skin that was as pale as the moon ans would've been considered flawless had not for the strange marking that shot down the side of her left temple. It looked as though it would pass as a strange birthmark of some kind. She had violet purple hair that was braided down her back, and ended to her waist. Her eyes were duel-colored with one as red as blood and the other as gray as a tombstone.

She was typing away at her computer; working on her figure-skating routine. The girl was a professional figure-skater and she was just about to leave for her competition. She was only going through her routine before she actually went on to the rink. Needless to say that this girl was really dedicated to the dazzling sport.

A few moments passed by, and she began to get ready to leave when a small gray kitten with brown markings came up and sat inside her army bag; preventing her human from putting anything else in the bag.

The girl sighed and placed her short program dress aside, and went over to her kitten. "You know you can't go, Rage." She said in a gentle tone, as she picked the kitten. The kitten freed itself from the girl's grasp, and climbed up her shoulder, and rested there. "You're so crazy." The girl began to carefully proceed to get ready for her big competition with the little kitten in tow.

It wasn't long until a woman in my mid-forties came into her room. The woman smiled at the sight of the little kitten resting on the girl's shoulder while she walked about her room; gathering up her things to take with her to the competition.

"Aren't you ready yet, Allyce?" The woman asked in a disbelieving tone.

The girl-or Allyce pulled the cords of the army bag, and pulled the kitten off her shoulder. "I just finished putting the last of the things I need in my bag." She whispered quietly; placing the kitten on her bed, and picking up the army bag.

The woman had nodded a formal nod to Allyce, as she moved out into the hall; waiting for the girl to come out.

It wasn't long until the two had arrived at the rink and signed in with the judges. Allyce looked over at the other girls, and shivered at all the looks she was getting from them: All held in contempt. The woman had guided the girl to the locker rooms where she could change and put her things into a locker.

Allyce stepped into the stalls to change into her costume, and felt a rush of emotions fall over her like a tidal wave. She grabbed her head tightly in her hands, as she gritted her teeth in pain; willing the pain away.

"I can't believe that Allyce has the guts to actually show her face in the Regional this year." A girl said in a snotty tone, as she began applying her make up in the mirror. "She won't even stand a chance without her little cheering section."

Allyce gasped and listened in on the conversation. Another girl decided to add her own comment. "She won't even stand a chance against our routines!" She added with a nasty sneer; following the other girl's example.

A bitter feeling ripped through her heart, as Allyce looked down at her feet in confusion. She wasn't feeling bitter towards the girls; she had no reason to. Why was she feeling that way? She peered through the space between the stall door, and saw the spiteful looks on the two girls' faces, as they put on their make up. Were they the ones feeling jealous of her? Why was Allyce feeling jealous? Was she feeling what they were feeling? How is that even possible? Questions such has these swam madly through Allyce's mind, as she sat down at the toilet; trying to comprehend what was going on.

After the girls made a few more nasty comments about Allyce, they left the locker room; leaving Allyce to her thoughts. Forcing the thoughts back into her mind, she quickly finished getting ready for the competition. She left the stall, and looked at herself in the mirror; making sure everything was in its rightful place.

She wore a flowing gray dress with sleeves that flared out at the ends. The dress was completed with a faded pink bow that tied around the waste and had two long tails flowing behind her. Her hair was done up in a tight bun with a diamond tiara placed elegantly on the crown of her head. She had a lovely antique locket hanging from her neck with a single dark red gemstone in the middle. Her make up was done to bring out her natural beauty.

She made her way towards the lockers to place her things in her locker. She sat down on the bench, and began to put her white skates on; placing her metallic pink covers on the blades. She made her way to the lobby; doing her best to ignore the headache that was forming from the left side of her head.

The woman from before had just found Allyce walking out of the locker room with her head hung low. The woman smiled faintly at the girl, and guided her towards the rink.

"Are you ready for this, Allyce?" The woman asked in a worried tone, "You've been acting really differently lately."

Allyce smiled weakly at the woman sitting beside her. "It's just a headache, mom. It's nothing to worry about." She replied in a gentle tone; getting up from her seat, and made her way to the rink. She stopped at the entrance gate, and took off her blade guards, and made her way out into the ice. "It will go away if I don't think about it."

After a few moments of practicing with the other figure-skaters, the announcers had told them that the competition was about to begin. On her way towards the exit, a skater brushed past Allyce; sending her falling on the ice. Allyce smirked and got back up, and made her way towards the exit...

_****_

As Allyce was getting ready for competition, Nightcrawler, or better known to his peers as, Kurt, was having a competition of his own. Kitty had begged him to join her and Bobby in another one of their Danger Room sessions. He had always agreed to join them whenever the chance had prevented itself. They all had been fairing quite nicely, and had even worked together in taking out an annoying blaster. Of course, Kitty would get caught in a trap and make the other laugh at her struggling.

Beast and Emma were in the Battle Room; looking for any signs of mutants nearby. As far as they know, no one has used their powers as of late. Emma was just about to unhook herself from Cerebros when she caught the presence of someone using their powers. She concentrated on the person to pin-point his or her location.

"It's a girl." Emma said in a flat tone; looking forward as though the girl were right in front of her. "She's 19 years old."

Beast placed an urgent hand on the chair Emma was sitting in. "What's her name?" He asked in a grim tone, "Where is she?"

Emma sighed and pulled the head piece off her head, and looked up at Beast with tired eyes. "Her name is Allyce L'Orange. She's here in New York."

Beast looked down at the woman, and watched her get up from the chair. "We should let the others know and decide what we're going to do."

The two had arrived at the over view in the Danger Room. Logan was over seeing the progress that the trio were making. He stood at the window; yelling into the microphone. He stopped when he noticed Beast and Emma entering the room.

"We found a new mutant." Beast announced in a pleased tone; giving Logan a toothy smile.

Logan looked over at Beast for a moment, and turned his eyes towards the woman dressed in white. "What are we looking at here, Frost?" He asked in a tired tone; looking back at the trio in the Danger Room.

"Her name is Allyce L'Orange. She's here in New York." Beast declared in a polite tone. "It's such a beautiful name, I think."

Emma ignored Beast's comment about Allyce's name, and looked over at Logan with concerned eyes. "She is an empath, and her power are also beginning to grow." She told the buffed up man in front of her. "I also picked up on another power that she possesses. But I fear she won't last the night if the MRD find her."

Logan raised a brow at the woman and folded his arms over his chest. "What kind of power are we looking at here? Another you?" He joked with a smirk playing across his lips.

Emma glared at Logan with hated eyes. "She has the power to manipulate paper at will. They're trying to surface as we speak. I also piked up that she is being put under a lot of pressure. In other words, if we don't find her soon, the MRD will."

Logan sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose with his fingers. "So, that means I'll have to take Kitty with me on this mission?" He asked in a tired tone; closing his eyes at the possible headache that will occur when he tells her about the mission.

Emma shrugged her shoulders, and turned to walk away. "Just hurry along and find Allyce, and it will be over quickly." She said before she reached the door.

"And just where do you think you're goin'?" Logan asked in a mock accusing tone; watching the woman stop just as the door opened with a metallic hiss.

"I've got some arrangements to make for our new guest." She said in a pleasing tone; as she looked over at Logan with a sweet smile. "We can't have a girl sleeping on the couch, can we?"

Logan sighed for the third time, and turned over towards the window to see Nightcrawler laughing at the sight of Kitty getting caught in the tentacles once again because of his antics. He ended the program and pressed the power button on the control panel; activating the loud speaker.

"Sorry to break up training, kids, but we've got a mission." Logan announced; wincing at the cheers he received from the two teens. "Meet me outside the Danger Room in five minutes." And with that, he turned the microphone off, and turned to leave the room with a groan. "I'm gonna regret this."

Beast chuckled at the man beside him, as he joined Logan at the door. "It can't be that bad, Logan." He said in an encouraging tone; giving Logan a playful smile.

"Why do I get knots in my stomach when someone says, "It can't be that bad."?" He asked in a defeated tone; giving Beast a blank stare as they left the room...

_****_

Allyce watched as all the people in the stadium enjoyed the performances from all the other skaters; holding the collar of her costume as she waited for her name to be called.

The woman had looked down at Allyce with worry in her eyes. "What's wrong, Allyce? There's no point in lying to me this time." She said in a firm tone; narrowing her eyes at the girl beside her. "Is this about what those other girls said in the changing room?"

Allyce's shoulders tensed for a moment, and looked down at her knees. "I'm sorry. I'm just nervous I guess." She whispered in a quiet tone; not looking the woman in the eye.

"You've never been nervous before." She woman said in a logical tone; not taking her eyes off the girl. "You know what will happen if you don't win."

Allyce nodded her head, and just as she was about to reply, the announcer had called for Allyce to go out on the ice. Allyce stood up and took off the guards for her blades; handing them over towards the woman with a cocky smirk.

"Don't worry about that, mom," she said in a twisted tone; putting her ear plugs in, "I'll do my personal best...I'll make sure of that..."

And with that she made her way towards the ice. She pushed herself out into the ice, and skated towards the center of the rink. She leaned her upper torso to the side; both arms held slightly away from her body with her wrists pointed outwards. She looked almost as though she was an angel passing judgment with her head hung low like it was. Once the music started, Allyce began to stroke the ice; trying to build up the energy to get the routine started.

The music had an up beat to it that made the crowd in the stands keep in their seats. It was a song by "Skye Sweetnam". She was very popular with inspirational music that went more towards her female fans. The song that Allyce was using was called, "Smoke and Mirrors". It was one of her favorite songs by her. She knew it was a risky move to play a song like that, but as long as Allyce could skate to it, it didn't matter what song she chose.

Allyce started out nice and smooth with simple strokes on the inner circle of the ice. She preformed excellent spins that blended in well with her next moves. She would definitely get good marks for artistry. Her movements alone were fluid and rivaled with professional skaters that were older than she was. It had the crowd with her performance, and that was good sign for her.

_**For someone so young, and naive...**_

_**Hard to know what to believe!**_

_**Still I thought I tried for a while.**_

_**Turning round and giving ups not my style.**_

_**On my own, on my own way...**_

Allyce jumped high into the air, and landed a perfect axle that bled into a lay-back spin. She held her arms out in front and back of her, as she glided on the ice with a smile never leaving her face. Despite what the other skaters thought, the crowd clapped and cheered for her to keep going; causing her smile to grow wider with each stroke of the ice.

_**Bottled up is where my fears go, my fears go!**_

_**I will never show my fear!**_

_**They'll tear me up until my tears show, my tears show!**_

_**All smoke and mirrors...**_

Allyce's movements became more wild and lively, as she jumped into the air, and landed a near perfect lutz jump. She then landed a harsh loop jump that turned into a perfect scratch spin before she went back to calming her movements down. She looked over at her mother, and saw her smile in satisfaction at the girl's performance. She used that to keep her going- hoping with all her heart that she'll be able to see herself in her mother's eyes.

Allyce then turned her attention back to the ice under her feet, and stumbled as she began to feel a mixture of emotions flood into her like they had done in the changing room with those two girls from earlier. She felt excitement and worry; something that she wasn't accustomed to since- the accident. She closed her eyes tightly and stroked the ice a little more to shake off those feelings and push herself through the routine; hoping she won't be bothered until then. She only prayed that would work for her.

Little did Allyce know that the two girls from before were watching her _very_ closely. They saw how Allyce was having slight difficulty staying on focus. They looked over at everyone else in the stadium, and noticed that they didn't notice anything in Allyce's behavior.

"Did you see what I saw?" One of the girls asked the other; looking over at her in disbelief.

The other girl nodded and looked back at Allyce, as she got back on track, and went on through her routine.

"She had better not get a higher score than us or she'll be sorry." She said in a warning tone; as she glared darkly at Allyce; a plan forming in her mind as she watched Allyce.

_**Just try hard, don't give in.**_

_**Keep it up and you'll win.**_

_**Don't let them know they get to you.**_

_**Put on a brave face, and you'll pull through.**_

_**On your own, on your own way.**_

Allyce's movements became more alive once again, and she picked up her pace and moved more quickly on the ice. She looked as though she were dancing on the ice. It was truly a stunning performance on her part. And from the looks on the judges faces, it looked like she was a shoe-in for making it to the top five. She passed the judged with a beautiful toe jump that made her appear to fly past them; leaving a good impression on them as they watched on in awe at what she was going to do next. This was certainly one of her better performances by far.

_**Bottled up is where your fears go, your fears go!**_

_**You will never show your fear!**_

_**They'll tear you up until your tears show, your tears show!**_

_**All smoke and mirrors...**_

Allyce shocked the crowd with an amazing three tripe axles that blended in well with one another. She then broke out into a perfect spread eagle that made her feel as though she were flying over the ice like a ghost in the night. She then began to twirl and spin around on the ice; making her look more like a ghost than when she pulled that spread eagle. She then kicked her foot up into the air, and jumped into the air; executing the most beautiful waltz jump that anyone could ever see. If any of the older skaters had seen her then, they would be very jealous of her talented performance. It made Allyce all the more motivated to know this.

_'It's time to pull out all the stops'_ She thought to herself when she passed by those two girls; giving them a cocky smirk, and moved more towards the center of the rink; getting ready for the grand finale...

_**This journey of ours never ends.**_

_**We will always pretend...**_

_**Fighting not to let them win.**_

_**And they're falling into our own illusions!**_

_**On our own, on our own way...**_

_'This is for you, Ray...' _ Allyce thought to herself as she preformed a perfect quadruple axle. It was a senior level technique that not many professional skaters could pull off. It definitely got the judges' attention, and they began talking amongst themselves on how they should score Allyce's performance. It was hard and they all had trouble about how they should place her. They were debated either or not to place her in first place, but when she staggered for a split second, they thought differently. She recovered with another beautiful scratch spin that bled into a waltz jump and bled into a sit spin and back up into a lay-back spin. With her costume flowing around her, it made her look like a type of fountain sprouting water with an impressive display of artistry; giving her near perfect markings in that category.

_**Bottled up is where our fears go, our fears go!**_

_**We will never show our fear!**_

_**They'll tear us up until our tears show, our tears show!**_

_**All smoke and mirrors...**_

Allyce's routine faded to a stop, and she bend her upper half of her body with her eyes closed. She spread her legs to the front and back of her body to keep perfect balance, and held her left arm down to her right knee, and her right hand extended to high into the air above her head; bowing to her judges. She straightened her body and smiled at them before made her way off the ice.

All the while of Allyce going over towards her mother, the two girls were glared hatefully at her as they waited for the final markings to be posted in the board from the judges. Allyce scored a 5.5 in artistry and stamina. She had a few 4.8s and 4.9s here and there, but all in all, it looked like those girls had some serious competition with their own scores.

"I guess it's all over for us... again." One of the girls said in a defeated tone. "And she doesn't even have a coach. How does she do it?"

The other girl turned and glared darkly at the other girl; folding her arms over her chest. "I think it's time to show our little _Ally Cat_ just who she's messing with..." She said in a dangerous tone; making the other girl look at her like she was going crazy.

A little while later of waiting for the final placing. An old woman finally arrived and placed the scoring papers up and left with a pleased smile; knowing that at least a few of the skaters would be happy with their placements.

Allyce moved over towards the paper after a few of the girls had moved away, and looked at the paper; searching for her name and praying that it would be good enough for her mother. She smiled weakly when she found her name- second place. It was better than fourth or fifth, and that meant she would moving up to Nationals and hopefully to the Olympics shortly after that.

Allyce's mother came up to her and looked over at the paper, and smiled down at her daughter. "And that's how it's done, huh, Allyce?" She asked in a motherly tone; smiling proudly at the girl in front of her. "Good job, Allyce."

"Well, I guess _somebody_ has to give you praise." The girl from before said with a nasty sneer. "It's not my fault you didn't have what it took to make it!"

"_Shut up, pincushion!_" Allyce growled in a darkened tone; giving the girl a dangerous glare.

Allyce's mother placed a hand on the girl's shoulder, and pushed her away from the other two girls. "Come on, Allyce, let's get out of that dress and get home." She said in a warning tone; steering her away from the girls.

Allyce was in the stall from before; changing into her street clothes. "What's wrong with me? I never let the competition get to me like that." She thought more about what was going on, and sighed to herself. "I guess I'll never get over this... Man, I need my brother with me..." She said quietly to herself; wishing he was with her right now to tell her everything was alright.

Once Allyce was out of the stalls, she looked over at the mirror, and noticed that the pupils of her eyes were now slitted and glowing red! What was going on? What was happening? Why was it happening to her now? Of all times to have strange things happening to her! It just didn't make any sense! She brought her hands up to her face, and saw that she now had slightly longer, pointed claws on each of her fingers; giving her a demonic cat appearance. She knew her mother wouldn't want anything to do with if she found out about this.

With quick thinking, Allyce pulled out her jacket and winter accessories: hat, gloves, sunglasses. She knew she had a reason for loving the wintery season. She carefully placed her gloves over her hands, and slipped her sunglasses over her eyes; thankful for them being so dark.

Little did she know that the girl from before had slipped into the changing room and saw that Allyce wasn't what she thought she was. For a moment, she thought she was just seeing things, but after she rubbed her eyes and found that nothing had changed, she knew what Allyce L'Orange was now- she was a mutant, and Allyce knew that more than anybody.

The girl glared angrily at the girl, and walked out of the changing room before Allyce knew that she was even there, and went for her cell phone; knowing just how she was going to get Allyce back for showing her up at Regional...

The girl had picked up her phone and hid in the corner of the locker room. She had dialed the MRD to tell them about Allyce. She kept it to herself and would keep it that way until Allyce was taken care of. Then she would spread rumors about while she was gone. That was the plan and that was how she worked. She waited until those who crossed her would leave before she made her vicious moves. Now, all she had to do was wait...

Wolf: I'm doing these first two chapters in parts. I think it'd be easier for everyone if I did my story like that because I'd probably have like-20 pages and that would get boring after awhile. Especially since I'm doing a chapter story.

Beast: In other words, you're just plain lazy with ADHD.

Wolf: Shut up or it's back to the closet with you, fur ball, or I'll have you going bald in the next chapter.

Beast: **yelps and runs away **

Everyone else: 0oO

Wolf: Now, to my readers, please be patient with me if I take a great period between chapters. I do get to me stories eventually, but please remember that I DO have a life outside of the internet. And there will be times where I DO take long breaks between chapters. They could be merely weeks, or could take as long as months at a time. It just depends on how busy I get. However, it doesn't mean that I don't write my chapters. It's finishing them and posting them that gets very taxing at times.

Kitty: It also helps if she gets help from other writer's out there.

Storm: Not to mention the reviews... they help boost her ego (in a good way) to write her stories, too.

Wolf: So please do me a favor and review! If you all review my stories, then I'll push myself to write more! It's a win-win situation for all of us!

And remember, smile until you stop...

Everyone: Peace out!


	2. Zero Tolerence Part 2

Wolf: Let me apologize to begin with...

Bobby: What is it this time?

Kitty: Shut up and let her talk, Bobby! She's got something to say!

Wolf: Thanks, Kitty! **hugs Kitty** I want to apologize in advance for any mistakes that may appear in my story. I do try my best to keep all the characters and their facts about them right, as well as keep their appearances in this story as accurate as possible. And how anyone with an accent. Like since Kurt is German, I try very hard to spell the words he frequently uses with his accent. (W+V, T+Z). Or Gambit's infamous Cajun accent.)

And allow me to take the time to apologize about any grammar, punctuations, spelling as correct as possible. I do run my story through all my chapters through spell check if I haven't checked my spelling during writing my chapters. If there are any mistakes you'd find in my story, please let me know so I can keep myself from making the same mistakes again in future chapters. If this warning goes unheeded, then the same mistakes will occur all over again.

Kurt: Vow, Wolf! T.T Zat's such a heartvarming apology!

Wolf: **Shrugs shoulders at Kurt** It's OCD in the making. I used to have this third grade teacher that would always correct my mistakes and made me feel stupid, so I got better so I would hear her bull-crap. The worst thing that anyone could do to me is correct my mistakes and make me feel bad.

Logan: Tough it up!

Bobby: **O0O** What's his deal?

Kurt: Zat was mean, here Logan!

Beast: He's just mad because he has to do the disclaimer.

Logan: **turns to the readers with his famous glare** The Paper Wolf doesn't own Wolverine & The X-Men. She just owns Zero and whatever original characters she decides to throw into this is story. You won't get any money if you sue her, so save yourselves the headache and just enjoy the story and all it's stupid mistakes. And I'll come after you if you read and review. I don't want to be another dead end story like the other ones she has on her computer.

Wolf: **T.T** Thanks for the disclaimer, Logan... Please enjoy your stay in Zero Tolerance...

Kurt: Enjoy the story!

Chapter Two: Zero Tolerance Part Two

_He just walked away..._

_Why could I tell him?_

_He was the first to lie,_

_when we were not alright!_

_He was the first to know,_

_when I wasn't okay!_

_He was the first to go!_

_I was the last to know..._

… Once Allyce and her mom got home, Allyce went on upstairs to her room; saying she had a bad headache, and headed off to bed early. Her mother didn't think anything of it, and excused her; watching her rush off upstairs towards her room, and grabbed Rage as she went.

Allyce had closed the door, and placed her cat down on the bed, as she took off her jacket, and gloves. Her hands still bore those claws, and when she took off her sunglasses, she still had the same cat-like eyes as before. She began to panic, and closed her eyes shut; trying to calm herself down in hopes of things going back to normal on their own.

"This can't be happening!" She whispered in a harsh hiss. She yelped in pain when she realized a sharp fang had pierced her lower lip when she bit down. She gave up when she opened her eyes and looked in the mirror. Nothing had changed. She walked back to her bed with her face buried in her clawed hands. She knew she was mutant. There was no doubt about it now. At first, she just thought that she was just imagining things, but now that her appearance had changed, her suspicions were confirmed.

What was she going to do? She heard about mutants getting caught by the MRD and taken away from their families. She even heard of people _killing_ mutants. Would someone try to kill her, too? Would anyone call the MRD and send them after her? Fears and worries like this were running wildly in her head. She didn't know what to do.

Allyce felt a furry body slide into her lap, and sighed. It was Rage wanting attention like she always did when she got home. She smiled weakly at the kitten in her lap, and began stroking her back; earning a rapid "meow" sound when she reached her tail.

"What am I going to do Rage?" She asked the kitten, as tears threatened to fall from her duo eyes. The kitten looked up at Allyce and meowed at her before burying her face into her stomach. "You're no help." She said in a playful glare.

Rage suddenly looked to the door, and arched her back with a nasty hiss. Allyce looked to the door, and saw her mother coming into her room. Allyce froze when she saw her mother standing in the door way. Allyce slowly rose up to her feet, and took a careful step towards the woman.

"Please, mother..." Allyce began in a fearful tone; holding her hands up in surrender, "I know what this looks like, but please..."

"I didn't want to believe the rumors that were going around at the rink..." Her mother said in a harsh tone; giving Allyce an ugly glare, "... but here you are... a mutant in my house. First Alexie and Ray had to die in that horrible accident... now this."

Allyce gasped at the woman standing in her room. "But I'm still me, mother! I'm just different that's all!" She resistance in her voice.

The woman teased up and stood still; watching her daughter slowly walk towards her. "You-you're not my child!" She screamed in a shocked tone, shaking at Allyce in fear. "You're a monster!" And with that, the woman dashed out of the room; sobbing and upset about what had happened to Allyce. "Allyce died with the rest of this family!"

Allyce gasped at her mother's words. She was ready for any harsh words to come out of the woman's mouth, but she wasn't ready to hear something like that. It felt worse than any fall she had suffered during her training as a figure-skater or that car accident that took her father and brother away from her and changed her life from that point on...

She sighed and went over towards the kitten hiding in her laundry basket; picking her up, and walking over towards the window. "That could've gone better." She said in a bitter tone; scratching Rage's chin, as she looked out the window.

She looked out the window and down the street to find that skater from the rink walking across the street, and focused on her. If she was a mutant, then she would definitely put them to good use. She felt a smug feeling when she watched the girl walk across the street. _Yeah, I got her good._ Allyce imagined her thinking. That would be what she was thinking if she saw her situation now. She had a feeling that she was the one who told her mother that she was a mutant. It would make sense on the account that she hated her for being as talented as she was, or that she was always so high on herself. That girl even got the other girls to hate her when it wasn't required. Allyce worked just as hard as the other girls whenever they trained, Allyce just had more – motivation than they did.

Allyce came out of her thoughts when she heard banging on the door just below her window. There were a few angry people standing on the porch; trying to get into the house. She panicked and dashed out of the room to find her mother before their _guests_ would let themselves in.

She ran down the hall and found her mother down in the kitchen. There, the woman had stood with her body shaking and a hateful glare in her eyes; pointing a gun at the girl.

"Wha-what's wrong, mom?" Allyce asked in a shaking tone; holding her hands up towards her mother. "Why are those people at our door?"

"You're not my daughter..." She said in a deranged tone; holding the knife out at arm's length at Allyce. "My daughter was _human_!" And with that, the woman had charged for Allyce; knife pointing directly at Allyce's stomach.

Allyce froze when she saw her mother coming after her with the knife screaming for blood to be drawn. _'I-I don't want to die!'_ She thought wildly through her mind, and just like magic, the papers from on the counter beside her had flew up just in time to block her mother's attack. Allyce looked up to that the papers had made a half dome shaped shield in front of her, and fell back on her rear.

"You freak! Get out of my house! I don't want you here anymore!" The woman barked in a dangerous tone; charging for Allyce once again.

_**Far in the distance,**_

_**this is the view from the other side...**_

_**How did I let this pass me by?**_

Unlike last time, the papers hadn't flown up to protect, had laid limp on the ground. Allyce began feeling an intense pain going through her left shoulder, and looked up to see her mother standing before her with a bloody knife. Her own flesh and blood had stabbed her in the shoulder with a kitchen knife.

"Mommy?" Allyce asked in a frightened tone; eyes shaking from the sight or her crazy mother standing above her. "Why are you doing this, mommy? Don't you love me anymore?" Allyce struggled to say, as she slowly got to her feet; holding herself up with the counter's assistance.

_**Took me for granted,**_

_**Planted thorns in this garden of mine.**_

_**What are the chances?**_

_**My hope has died...**_

The woman sneered and raised the knife back up in front of her. "I don't have a daughter! Not anymore!" And with those heart breaking words, the woman brought kitchen knife into Allyce's stomach. Allyce stepped out of the knife, and grabbed her stomach; preventing as much blood as she could from leaking out of her wound, and made a mad dash out of the room, and up the stairs.

She dashed into her room, and locked the door with bloody hands. She looked around, and grabbed a few of her belongings. A few packs of cards, a few changes of clothes, and a few of her personal belongings before she opened the window. There was a tree not too far from her window, and she figured she could make that jump even with the wounds she now had.

Just as she was about to jump out of the room, a few of the intruders burst into the room with guns and other weapons.

"There she is! Let's get her!" One of the men said in rage; charging for the girl.

Allyce gasped and jumped from the window; taking her things with her. She wasn't surprised when she actually made that jump to the tree. She looked back to the window, and saw a few men pointing guns at her, and jumped down from the tree; taking off down the street as fast as she could.

**As Allyce was running for her life, **Bobby, Logan, Kitty, and Kurt had just landed outside of town with curious looks on their faces. The trio were filled in when Logan had gotten the Blackbird airborne, and had just landed to find their target. They had only hoped that they weren't too late and the MRD hadn't gotten to her before they had. They had been dressed in normal clothes to help blend in better. Kurt had worn his hologram projector* to hide his appearance where the others just simply wore their normal street clothes.

Kitty looked around and shivered at the dull sight of the town. It wasn't as bright and colorful as other places in New York she's visited. "This place feels so cold here..." She said in a depressed tone; looking around at all the houses as they went.

Kurt looked back at Kitty, and gave her an understanding look. "Humans must've found out zat zey have a mutant in town..." He answered in a serious tone; ending the conversation however short-lived it was.

Kurt was showing signs of worry for other reasons. He was worried that the citizens had realized she was a mutant, and had tried to hurt her. He hoped that none of the folks living there had realized the girl in question wasn't a mutant, and had tried to hurt her yet. Too bad no one was listening to his prayers...

They had come across an abandoned house a way's away from their aircraft. And saw a few people leaving the house. Logan had pulled the others into an alley beside the house nearby, and waited for a woman to pass them by before they moved inside the house. Logan had told the blue elf to go inside the house and let them in.

When Kurt did as he was told, he opened the back door, and allowed the others to enter the house. Logan sniffed the air, and gagged at the heavy scent he knew as _blood_. He found his way into the kitchen and heard Kitty gasp at the messy scene in the room.

It was mostly near the entrance, and saw a fair amount of blood all over the floor and the counter. It looked like a domestic disturbance that would been shown on television, with a lot of bloody papers on the floor and seeped onto the floor. Logan had mentally guessed that it was no doubt Allyce's blood that had been spilled. And why wouldn't he assume that? People had been known to attack helpless mutants for no good reason. He and Kurt knew all too well on what that was like...

Logan sighed and ran a hand through his hair and turned towards his friends. "It's clear that Allyce isn't here." He said in a firm tone. "Let's split up and look for her. She's probably hurt, so she couldn't have gone too far."

"It shouldn't be too hard. All we have to do is follow the screams." Kitty said in a bitter tone

The others nodded and took directions; leaving the bloody room as quietly as they could in case anyone might be passing by.

**While the X-Men were out looking for Allyce, ** The girl had been running from all the other people that she used to grow up with. They had successfully thrown several bricks and sticks at her; injuring her further. She had been able to make her cards to create a shield between her and the others, but more times than one, her powers wouldn't work when she needed them to. It was clear that she had no control over them. She had escaped to the cemetery; giving the others the slip, and had been hiding out amongst the graves.

_**Please have mercy...**_

_**You've unnerved me...**_

_**I don't deserve this pain!**_

She hadn't no idea how long she had been hiding there, and was thankful that no one had bothered to look for her there so far. She only prayed that her luck wouldn't run out any time soon. She looked up at the sky, and noticed that it had already started it's twilight cycle, and had guessed that she had been there for a while; giving herself think about all the things that were playing out throughout her life.

The other girls would tease her and intimidate her during competition. She even got the same treatment from her mother. She didn't even come to her practices or competitions. Why should she have to hold back on everything she does and no one else had to? The more Allyce used to think about that, she'd feel so hurt and angry. It just wasn't fair!

She leaned forward, and began crawling away from her brother's grave; praying that no one could hear her moving around. After a few seconds of catching her breath, she began thinking about all of the things that has happened to her since she was a child. She was just a child back then. No child should have to go through what she did. No one.

She looked back at her brother's grave, and read the description: **Raymond "Ray" L'Orange. Fighter, Son, Brother, and Friend.** She smiled faintly at the description, and used some of her own blood to write a description of her own: **Here lies someone who died of a broken heart.** Those words were more true than anything that anybody could've wrote for him.

_**Don't break my heart!**_

_**I ain't never done,**_

_**nothing to deserve this!**_

_**I'm torn apart!**_

_**You've had your fun!**_

_**Do you suppose I earned it?**_

_**Do you not see,**_

_**how I'm begging on my knees?**_

**Just as Allyce was thinking about the events that were playing out before her, **Kurt was jumping and teleporting all over town. He stopped to rest close to the cemetery, and looked around his own surroundings in hopes of finding anything that might point him in the right direction where the girl could be. He finally looked to the cemetery, and felt a violent shiver run down his spine. He felt something was there, and given the way the air shifted towards that direction, he knew _exactly _what it was.

Making his mind up quickly, he shifted his weight to his legs under him, and jumped into the air. He waited until he was high enough before he teleported onto the nearby rooftop; repeating the process while trying to keep most of his energy and strength up should he need to ready for a fight.**

**What had she done to deserve any of this again?** Why wasn't she the one to die instead of him? He was always the better sibling; even if they were twins, and had the same skills as the other, he was still better than she was. Everyone that the same way she did. She wasn't deaf, and after hearing it for so long, she started to believe it. She missed her brother so much whenever she thought of him, she would break down every time.

Her mother wasn't much help to her, either. She always like Ray better, anyway. No, that wasn't some childish thinking on Allyce's part, her mother really did like her brother more than she liked Allyce. She would always tell Allyce that she wasn't good enough, and even Allyce herself had started to believe that as well.

Sometimes, her mother would ask her why she even bothers trying. Trying to be like her brother, trying to compete in figure-skating, trying to do well in school, or trying to do anything for that matter. Allyce would look to her brother.

After awhile of thinking about why she was trying so hard, she finally looked up at the woman and simply reply, "Because I no one believes in me, I can make it to the top.". She may have earned a slap across the face for that answer, but it was well worth it to see the look on her face.

_**Don't speak, don't breathe!**_

_**You bring out the devil in me...**_

It wasn't long until she made a struggled move before she found someone else moving around in the cemetery. Not doubt the others had begun their search there. She made it a way's away from the noise and looked around the large stone to see a few MRD soldiers had been looking for her. She gasped, and began moving away from them as quickly as she could. Her wounds had been aching for a while now that she's relaxed and her adrenalin had run out; proving to be more of a challenge than when she had started out from her house.

_'Someone help me!'_ She thought wildly, as she kept moving from her position.

"There she is!" Someone called out; startling her out of her thoughts.

"Oh, no!" She cried out in panic; scooting away from the voices that were quickly gaining on her.

_**Thinking it over.**_

_**Those were days dark as ebony nights.**_

_**The end of October felt like a lifetime...**_

_**I had a suspicion,**_

_**but I didn't want to believe you a liar.**_

_**You had a mission to prove me right...**_

She backed up, and hit her head on nearby gravestone. She closed her eyes against the pain that itched her head, and waited for the pain to subside. She looked up to see to find herself staring into the barrel of one of the MRD's guns.

She began to shake violently at the sight of the gun in her face. She soon began to cry; tears running down her face, as she waited for her fate...

**Just as Allyce was starting to think that there was no other way out,** Kurt landed on the entrance gate, and looked inside; hoping his gut feeling was right, and Allyce was inside there. He strained his eyes, and saw a pair of MRD troops walking further into the graveyard.

_'Vhy would ze MRD be walking into a cemetery?' _Kurt thought to himself, as he teleported safely into the shadows; keeping out of sight from any lingering MRD troopers. His answer was answered when he heard a scream further into the hollowed grounds. _'Vell, I guess zat must be vhy zey are here.' _ He thought bitterly to himself. He looked down at his belt, and quickly pressed his locator device; turning it on before he went off towards the scream. He only hoped that it wasn't too late...

He arrived at the scene, and found Allyce jumping away from the men. Allyce let loose a cat like hiss. It was clear to Nightcrawler that she wasn't very happy seeing the MRD. He took in his surroundings, and found that there was a reasonable amount of blood on the ground and all over the surrounding graves. It wasn't looking good for the girl. So, Kurt decided to take charge, and jump right into the fight; teleporting himself between the Allyce and the MRD; letting his existence be known. He would do his best to hold them off long enough for the others to come to his location.

"You vill not be zaking her novere!" He declared in a dangerous tone; keeping his eyes trained on the men.

"It's another mutant! Get him, too!" Said the MRD Trooper closest to Kurt.

A few men have charged for Kurt, but Kurt grabbed them both by the shoulder, and threw them towards the other remaining MRD soldiers. He teleported around the few that dodged the ones flying towards them, and went after Kurt. Kurt grinned and punched them in the face; sending them to the ground with loud thuds. He threw one of the MRD into a stoned statue and knocked him out, and repeated that action until the rest of them were unconscious.

One MRD soldier had gotten up, and aimed his gun at Allyce, and quickly pulled the trigger; knocking her off the cliff, and into the freezing river just at the bottom of the hill. (TPW: Great place to put a cemetery, right?)

Kurt turned around, and gasped at the sight of Allyce falling into the river, and kicked the soldier across the face; knocking him into a large grave with such a force, it broke the stone, and knocked him out. He quickly looked down into the waters in hopes of finding Allyce. He sighed in relief when he saw her break the surface of the freezing waters, and began coughing and sputtering out the water she had swallowed upon impact.

Without hesitation, he jumped into the water, and began swimming after her; fighting against the current that was dragging him further away from her.

"Please help me!" Allyce screamed in panic just before she went under the water again.

Kurt gasped and dove under the water; hoping to reach her before the current pulled him further away from his target. He finally found her, and teleported just in front of her; grabbing her hand, and teleported once again – this time appearing safely on the shore.

When he finally got enough strength to lift his head up, he looked over at the girl, and found her unconscious. He rolled her over to look at her injuries, and found that they were worse than he originally thought.

She had suffered a stabbing of some kind to the stomach and shoulder as well as some minor defensive wounds on her arms and legs. It was probably from running around and avoiding any contact from humans.

_**You took my trust,**_

_**Ground it to dust...**_

_**Found out I knew better...**_

Kurt noticed that Allyce's mouth was closed but something was trying to come out. He quickly (but carefully) moved her face to the side, and probed her mouth open to let whatever it was that was trying to get out of her mouth. Her eyes flew open, and the water that she had swallowed while she went under the icy waters had spilled out and onto the ground. She coughed and sputtered; rolling over to her to cough up the rest of whatever was left inside of her. Kurt began to rub her back when he realized she was throwing up blood.

He heard some commotion from the cemetery, and looked up to see his team mates up there looking for him. He called out to them, and looked down to see Allyce had fallen out of conscience once again. He pulled her into his lap, and waited for the others to reach him; doing his best to keep Allyce warm in hopes of her not going into shock from her injuries and loss of blood.

_**Don't break my heart!**_

_**I ain't never done,**_

_**nothing to deserve this!**_

_**I'm torn apart!**_

_**You've had your fun!**_

_**Do you suppose I earned it?**_

_**Do you not see,**_

_**how I'm begging on my knees?**_

The others had finally made their way towards the two, and Kitty gasped at the sight before her. The two were completely drenched and shivering from the cold. Kurt was trying to keep a bloodied Allyce from going into shock, but failing drastically due to his own furry body being soaked, and slightly holding back his ragged coughs. Everyone could see his strength was failing, and wasn't long until he would meet the same fate as the girl in his arms.

"I did it..." Kurt said in a weakened tone; sending himself into a coughing fit. "I saved her from ze river..."

Kitty fell to her knees in front of the two on the ground, and looked Allyce over. Once she placed a gentle hand on her throat, she realized the situation was dark for the new girl. She gasped and noticed Allyce's breathing was shallow and growing fainter as each second passed by. She looked up at Logan with pleading eyes.

_**Don't speak, don't breathe!**_

_**You bring out the devil of...**_

"She's in shock! We have to get her out of here!" She cried out in panic, as she pulled out her rescue kit, and proceeded to tend to Allyce's wounds.

Logan growled, and knelt down before the two; looking Allyce over. "It looks like we really screwed up this time, huh, elf?" He asked in a rough tone; showing a small sign of remorse. "You did good, Kurt. Now, let's get you two out of here." He said in a gentle tone; picking Allyce up.

And with that, they rushed out of gloomy grounds; glaring warningly at whoever would dare try to stop them. Kitty noticed that Allyce's bag had been left abandoned from who knows what exactly happened at the cemetery, and snatched it up before Logan held the girl in his arms, and felt each struggled cough that her body would force out of her mouth. Bobby and Kitty helped Kurt along as fast as they could; activating his projector upon his request once they made it out of the cemetery.

Once they were in the blackbird, Logan had made contact with Beast, and told him to ready the medical wing for their arrival. Bobby had helped Kurt get warm by giving him a few blankets, and did the same with Allyce after Kitty had tended to Allyce's wounds as best as she could. Everyone on board had hoped it would be enough to help her until they got her back to the institute...

_**And I don't wanna feel the pain...**_

_**And I don't want another day,**_

_**Shackled to your ball and chain!**_

_**You're entirely to blame!**_

_**In a quiet misery,**_

_**all I can is wait...**_

_**All I can do is wait!**_

Kurt coughed a little, and looked over at Kitty in time for her to stop working on Allyce's wounds. "How is she doing, Kitty?" He asked weakly; trying not to have another fit.

Kitty sighed and tucked the blankets around Allyce's tiny body as tight as she could, and made her way over to him. "I've done what I could to patch up her wounds, but there's not a whole lot I can do." She answered in a sad tone; looking back to the girl lying on a makeshift stretcher. "I just hope we get back in time. Those wounds are pretty serious."

Bobby growled and frost began to freeze the area around him. "How could someone do something like that to a mutant much less a little girl like her? It's just stupid!"

Kitty sent Bobby a death glare, and folded her arms over her chest. "Logan wasn't kidding when he said that stupidity hurts." She growled out in disdain; not looking anyone in the eye as her anger rolled off of her.

Kurt looked over at Allyce, and noticed that she was squirming on the stretcher, and looked back at Kitty; holding up a hand to stop her.

"Please, calm down you two." He said in a quiet tone; pleading with the girl in front of him. "I zink Allyce can feel your anger, and it's making her uncomfortable."

Kitty blinked down at the blue elf, and looked back at Allyce to see that Kurt was right. Allyce was shifting around on the stretcher behind them.

Logan growled and looked back at the trio behind him. "The elf is right. She may be knocked out, but she can still feel emotions." He advised in a rough tone. "Getting mad won't help her now. So, sit down and shut up."

_**So I don't have a prayer,**_

_**if there is no charity in your heart!**_

_**Couldn't you spare me?**_

_**I've done my part!**_

It felt like a long flight back to the institute. It may have been an hour or so, but to the trio, it felt like it took forever just to see the mansion. Logan tried to land the Blackbird as softly as he could so he wouldn't irritate the two wounded mutants, but it proved to be in vain. The jet had jerked, and if Kitty wasn't beside Allyce, she would've fallen off the stretcher. Logan unbuckled himself from his restraints after he got the hatch open, and went over towards the sleeping girl; carefully picking her up, and making his way out of the blackbird as quickly as he could with the Bobby and Kitty helping Kurt out. He may not have been injured as much as Allyce, but he still needed help getting up and around until Beast took a look at him as well.

_**Don't break my heart!**_

_**I ain't never done,**_

_**nothing to deserve this!**_

_**And I'm torn apart!**_

_**You've had your fun!**_

_**Do you suppose I earned it?**_

_**Do you know see how I'm begging on my knees?**_

_**Don't speak, don't breathe!**_

_**You bring out the devil-**_

Once Logan made it to the infirmary, he was instructed to place Allyce on the bed that was ready for her. Beast had made Bobby and Kitty leave, and began finishing up where Kitty left off in patching Allyce up. Logan had stayed to help out in any way Beast wished. Ororo had been there to help Kurt feel better. She was startled to see Allyce's condition, and helped Beast along with Logan. She was ready for any minor injuries that Allyce had suffered, but she wasn't ready for what she saw. Much like Kitty's reaction, she was disgusted in the display humanity offered the poor girl.

Emma came into the room when she learned that the team had arrived, and did her best to keep the girl calm long enough for the others to patch up her wounds. It wasn't easy to keep her hands on the girl with her struggling, but Logan was told to hold her down and keep her from squirming; making it easy for the diamond skinned woman to calm Allyce's struggles.

"No! Stay away from me!" Allyce screamed out in her sleep; shocking everyone in the room. "It's not fair!"

Emma looked up at Beast and Logan with a sympathetic look in her eyes. "She's reliving the events that happened today." She spoke up in a quiet tone; looking back down at the girl, and focusing her power on Allyce's trouble mind.

"I didn't do anything to you!" Allyce screamed in an inhuman roar; making her body sizzle with white electricity jumping off her body.

Emma blinked down at the sight before her. "I knew she was an empath, but I didn't know she was this powerful." She said in a surprised tone. "It would seem that she's saying things she couldn't earlier."

"Zat is because she vas too busy running from everyvon." Kurt said in a bitter tone from his place on the bed not too far from the girl. "I was just like that before ze professor found me."

Beast looked back at the blue elf with a serious nod before he turned his attention back to the girl. He looked up at Emma and gave her a similar look. "I'm sure there was a lot going on back there, but we need to keep her still so I can tend to her injuries." He advised in an urgent tone; going back to work, as Emma and Logan returned to their previous task: Keeping Allyce calm and still long enough for him to do what was needed to be done.

_**Don't break my heart!**_

_**I ain't never done,**_

_**nothing to deserve this!**_

_**And I'm torn apart!**_

_**You've had your fun!**_

_**Do you suppose I earned it?**_

_**Do you not see how I'm begging on my knees?**_

_**Don't speak, don't breathe...**_

_**You bring out the devil in me!**_

_**Devil in me... Devil in me...**_

After a few long hours of treating Allyce, they were finally done. Logan had released the girl from his firm hold on the girl's biceps; leaving dark bruises in his wake. Beast finished wrapping the girl's stitches and placed his gloves on the tray with the rest of his tools. He had given her a seditive to keep her calm so Emma could take a break from exhausting her powers keeping the girl calm from all the emotions that were flying around the room. Kurt was relieved to know that she was going to be okay thanks to Beasts expert care. He ended up hooking Logan for a blood transfusion to speed up her healing process.

"So she'll be okay now, right, Hank?" Logan asked in a tired tone; looking down at the girl lying on the bed.

Beast sighed and ran a furry hand through his hair. "She should be fine in a few days, but what she needs now is a lot of rest and recovery."

"Vill she be done here long?" Kurt asked in a curious tone; looking the girl over from his bed.

Allyce was covered in bandages from the waist up. Her arms were bandaged from the wrists to elbows. Her hands were also bandaged. It broke his heart to see her in that state, and he prayed to whatever God that was listening that she'd never have to suffer a fate like this again.

"It all depends on how well she stays still." Beast replied in a gentle tone. "I expect a full recovery in a week tops." He answered in a proud tone. "Should she not put any strain on her body while she's healing, she may even recover sooner."

"Zat is good zu know." Kurt said in a relieved tone; giving the sleeping girl a small smile.

"She had better make a good recovery with all the blood you took from me." Logan said in a grumpy tone; folding his sore arms over his chest.

Emma gave Logan a sly smile. "It would seem that you might have another child to care for, Logan." She said in a teasing tone; poking Logan in the chest; earning a chuckle from the other men in the room.

She looked back down at Allyce to see that her head had fallen to the side, and some of her had covered her face. She smiled motherly at her, and pulled her hair to the side before she made her leave.

Once she was outside the room, she was bombarded with questions from Bobby, Forge, and Kitty. She told them of Allyce's condition, and told them to leave her alone for the time being before she left for her own room; but not before asking Kitty to lend Allyce some extra clothes for Allyce...

*****I know the hologram thingy Kurt used in this chapter goes with the one he uses in the Evolution series, but I wanted him there to save Allyce. Please disregard that fact.

** I know that scene was from Kurt's past, but if you think about Allyce's new appearance, it would match her as well as it did for him. She DOES look like a cat demon now.

**Wolf**: I'm going to leave this chapter as it is.

Kurt: Ja, it is very long!

Bobby: How long did it take you to finish this one?

Wolf: Oh, I'd say about a good few days. I stayed up pretty late to finish.

Logan: What's with the song?

Wolf: I wanted to make this story a song fic type. I've seen a lot of those around ff, and wanted to see if I can do it, too, but it's proving to be very troublesome, so I think I won't put anymore songs in this story. It took FOREVER to pick out a song that would match this chapter.

Logan: **crosses arms over his chest **so you're telling me that you're giving up on the songs?

Kitty: And here I thought it was a good idea. What was that song you used anyway?

Wolf: The song that was used in this chapter was the acoustic version of "Devil in Me" by Kate Voegele. I couldn't find a better song and believe me when I say that I couldn't.

Wolf: It's too hard, and besides, it makes my chapters longer than I wanted them to.

Bobby: Quitter.

Wolf: **glares at Bobby** Do you want to stay alive in this story?

Bobby: **yelps and hides behind Logan**

Wolf: That's what I thought! Now, shut up and leave me alone so I can get started on the next chapter!

Wolf: **smiles sweetly at the readers** I'm sorry for Bobby's bad manners. He's still young. Please review and send any ideas you might have and I'll do my best to put them in future chapters. If you send flames, I'll either use them to make my dinner or let the over grown ice maker melt them.

And remember: smile until you stop.


	3. Get Through

Wolf: I hope the last chapter wasn't as bad (in whatever mistakes occurred from the first chapter). I'm a perfectionist when it comes to spelling, grammar, and accuracy. This chapter will hopefully shed some light for anyone who may have some questions. If you'd like a picture of what Allyce looks like, please feel free to go to , and look up HamatoRage. My avatar comes pretty close in her description.

Logan: Aren't you forgetting something, Wolf?

Kurt: **crosses his arms over his chest** Ja, Wolf! Don't forget what you promised to do!

Wolf: **slaps forehead** I was getting to that, guys! **turns to the readers** I've had a complaint about mistakes in my first chapter that really hurt my feelings...

Bobby: You read the reviews?

Wolf: **slaps Bobby over the head** Of course I do! I just delete the bad ones! **turns back to the readers** I was always taught to believe that if you don't have anything to say, then don't say anything at all. I'd rather have people not review my story than send me negative feedback. It's rude and discouraging to others, and I don't acknowledge anyone who sends them. So if you don't have anything nice to say when you're reviewing my stories, then don't even bother sending anything my way.

Wolf: **Turns to Emma** Will you be so kind as to do the honors this time, Lady Emma?

Emma: **Sighs** if I must... **turns to the readers** The Paper Wolf doesn't own Wolverine and the X-Men or anything else that may be connected to the Marvel universe. If you try to sue her, I will personally wipe everyone's mind clean of any creativity.

Wolf: **T.T** You're just as bad as Logan.

Emma: **smiles sweetly at Wolf** I try my best, Wolf.

Wolf: I'd like to take this time to thank all the people who are kind enough to review my chapters! It's nice to know that someone is out there reading my story! So, thanks, xxSidekickxx! You're the best!

Wolf: Anyway, please read and review and by the by... my adorable little brother would like to add something as well, so without further ado... Here's Corey!

Corey: *Smiles innocently at the readers* Corey is awesome !

Wolf: **Oo0** That was what you wanted to say?

Corey: Yup!

Wolf: Anyway, enjoy your stay in Zero Tolerance!

Chapter Three: Get Through This

_What could I say,_

_to get through to you?_

_They've taken away everything from me!_

_I tried to see the good in life,_

_but good things are hard to find!_

_There's a part of me that hit the ground!_

_It's already over..._

December 8th

Beast had been correct when he told Kurt that Allyce would get better within the week. Nightcrawler had been released the next day, but had visited the poor girl from time to time to make sure she was okay. He hoped she wouldn't freak out like other girls at the institute before the explosion that sent them in chaos.

Beast would occasionally accompany the elf to check Allyce's progress. He did check up on her as a doctor, and was surprised to see that Allyce was healing just as well as he had predicted. He thanked Logan's blood for the speedy recovery. If Logan hadn't given Allyce blood, he feared that she wouldn't survive the night. He was still amazed that she was even alive when they brought her back. Emma even offered to bring Allyce out of her unconscious state, but Beast had strongly advised against it; saying that it'd be cruel to wake her then when they had just finished patching her wounds.

Right now, Kurt was on his way to pay Allyce a visit when he bumped into Bobby and Kitty. The two had been on their way down to the Danger Room, and asked if he was going to see Allyce. Kurt smiled at them and told that he was.

"You're always going to see her, Kurt." Kitty said in a teasing tone; giving Kurt a playful smile that made him slightly uncomfortable.

"Do I detect a hint of a crush forming here?" Bobby asked in playful tone; smiling slyly at Kurt, as he folded his arms over his chest.

Kurt gave the two younger X-Men a slight smile. "Vell, I don' see you two going to see her." He countered, "Besides, she's all alone now. It vas clear no one vants her in zat town."

Kitty's teasing smile faded and fell. She remembered the terrible way Allyce was treated, and hoped that she wouldn't have to see that again. "It's horrible how those people treated her, but what's done is done. Emma said that there were a lot of people who hated us for being what we are." She said in a sad tone; looking down at the ground. "I'm just glad you got to her in time."

"I'd like to go back to that town and give those idiots a piece of my mind!" Bobby said in a spiteful tone; glaring angrily at the floor as he rolled his hands into fists. "It's not fair how they treated her!"

Kurt nodded to the girl, and placed a hand on both Bobby and Kitty's shoulders. "Don't vorry too much about it, you two. Ve all have our demons to deal vith." He said in a brotherly tone; trying to perk the two up. "Some more zen others."

Kitty gave Kurt a small smile, and looked over at Bobby. "We should be going before Logan changes our settings." She told the Drake beside her.

Bobby perked up and looked over at Kurt. "Let us know if there's any change, okay?" He asked in a more calmed tone; relaxing his arms with a strained sigh.

Kurt gave the two a kind smile, and waved to them, as they made their way towards the Danger Room. "Have fun, you two!" He called out before he ducked into the medical room; dodging any remarks he might have received from the two.

Once he was inside, he found Allyce lying on the bed with her head turned completely to the side. Beast had already beat Kurt inside, and had doing his periodically check ups on Allyce's progress. Beast had been sitting on a stool; changing her bandages.

"I was beginning to wonder when you'd come down here to see Allyce." Beast spoke up in a friendly tone; not bothering to look up to know if it was actually Kurt. He could tell by the scent of brimstone that clung to his body and his normally silent entrances when the door slid open.

"I vas talking to Bobby and Kitty on my way in." Kurt explained in a lazy tone; joining Beast at the bed. "So, how is she doing today?" He asked in a slightly concerned tone.

"She's doing as well as can be expected. Her wounds are still healing, which is slightly confusing because Wolverine heals much faster than she is." Beast replied in a bothered tone; not looking up at Kurt.

Kurt chuckled at Beast's reply, and looked down at Allyce's sleeping form. "Zat vood be because she is not Logan." He answered in a reasoning tone.

Kurt smiled down at Allyce, and touched her hand. No sooner had he made contact with her, Allyce's cat eyes opened; glowing red. She sat up straight on the bed; her eyes leaving a trail of red as she sat up in a simple robotic motion.

At first, the two gentlemen didn't know how to react. They had seen many strange things in their time as X-Men, but they had never seen anything like what Allyce just did. Beast was the first to recover from his shock at seeing Allyce awaken, and was the first to speak.

"Well, it's good to see you're actually awake, Miss L'Orange." He said in a pleased tone; giving Allyce a slight smile. "I wasn't expecting you up for about a few more days. Given your current condition."

Allyce looked over at the two blue men, and looked at them with hollow eyes once the red lights in them had dimmed. She looked around the room, and tried to figure out where she was.

"... wha-what happened?" She asked in a quiet tone; placing a sluggish hand over half of her face. "Where am I?"

Kurt smiled weakly at the girl, and placed a gentle hand on Allyce's shoulder; causing her to look up at him with lost eyes. "You are safe here, Allyce." He said in a gentle tone; trying to give her a warm smile.

"To be more accurate," Beast spoke up in a knowing tone, "You're at the Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters. You're currently in our hospital wing after you've had an – unfortunate accident with the people in your neighborhood."

Allyce didn't look anyone in the eye, and drew her knees into her chest; wrapping her arms around them to keep them in place. "Why would you help me?" She asked in a soulless tone; burying her face in her knees. "No one has ever shown me any ounce of kindness for such a long time. Why would anyone start now?"

_**I will dedicate,**_

_**and sacrifice my everything,**_

_**for just a second's worth!**_

_**Before my story's ending!**_

_**And I wish I could know,**_

_**if the choices that I make,**_

_**Won't end up all for nothing!**_

Kurt looked over at Beast with worried eyes; not knowing what to say to help her feel better. He looked down at the girl, and sat down on the bed near where her legs should be.

"Zat is vat ve do." Kurt replied in a soothing tone, as he placed a caring hand over her own. "Ve help people like us."

Allyce lifted her eyes to meet Kurt's soft smile, and looked back down at her knees. She would have said something, but Emma and Logan came into the room with passive looks on their faces that soon turned into pleasant smiles upon seeing Allyce awake.

"Ah, you're finally awake." Emma said in a motherly tone; giving Allyce a warm smile, as she made her way over towards the girl.

Allyce looked up at the woman entering the room with an amazed look on her face. "I know you... from somewhere." She said in stunned tone; not taking her eyes off the woman coming towards her.

Emma smiled uneasily at Allyce and took her place across from Kurt. "That's probably because I was inside your mind when you first arrived."

Allyce tilted her head to the side, and gave Emma a confused look. Emma did her best to hold back a chuckle, and kept her smile in place.

"I have telepathy." Emma said in a friendly tone. "I can read minds as well as enter them." She explained, "You wouldn't stay calm long enough for Hank to treat you, so I entered your mind to keep you calm long enough for him to help you."

Beast gave Emma a weary smile at the woman and turned his attention back to Allyce with a comforting smile. "Well, I don't deserve all the credit," he said in a modest tone; rubbing the back of his neck, "if it wasn't for both Emma's telepathy, and a transfusion from Logan over there, I wouldn't have been able to do anything for you."

_**Show me what it's for!**_

_**Make me understand it!**_

_**I've been crawling in the dark,**_

_**looking for the answers!**_

_**Is there something more,**_

_**than what I've been handed?**_

_**I've been crawling in the dark,**_

_**looking for the answer!**_

Allyce looked over at the man in question, and then gave them a weak smile. "Thanks for... well, everything, I guess..." She said in an unsure tone; not looking anyone in the eyes. "It's... nice to know that there are still some good people left in the world. Too bad it took me ten years to actually find them."

Emma looked at the men in the room, and saw them giving the girl a questioning look. She looked back down at the girl before and placed a hand on hers; causing her to flinch at the simple touch. She quickly withdrew her hand, and gave Allyce a worried smile.

"You really haven't been shown much kindness in your time, have you, Allyce?" The woman asked in a preoccupied tone; giving Allyce her full attention.

Allyce's eyes began to glow an evil red color, and turned them on the woman beside her. "Don't ever..." She said in a low tone that even Logan had to strain his ears to hear her. "Don't you _ever _call me that name again!" She growled in a hateful tone. "That girl died a long time ago, and she's _never _coming back! Those people I grew up with and trusted with my very life had made sure of that!"

The ones around Allyce looked back at her with shock and sympathy in their eyes. Emma watched tears start to fall from Allyce's eyes, and gently placed her hand on Allyce's shoulder.

"But your name is so beautiful." Kurt said in a concerned tone; feeling his own heart break at the sight of Allyce's tears.

Emma placed a gentle hand on Allyce's shoulder, and smiled warmly at the girl. "What would you like to be called then? Surely you already have a name in mind." Emma said in a reasoning tone; offering Allyce a small smile.

Allyce looked up at Emma for a moment and looked straight ahead. "Ray and I were twins." She whispered in a chocked sob; letting her tears become more angry. "We were a duo. We didn't need to have any friends because we always had each others back... but he's gone now... so I'll be "Zero"."

_'Zat is the grave that had zat writing on it.' _Kurt thought to himself; remembering the bloody writing on it. (Wolf: "Here lies someone who died of a broken heart". See ch.2 for ref.)

Logan sighed and placed a fatherly hand on Allyce's shoulder; causing her to look up at him. "I think it's a good name. It suits you." He said in an agreeing tone; giving the newly named "Zero" a fatherly smile.

_**Help me carry on!**_

_**assure me it's okay to,**_

_**use my heart and not my eyes!**_

_**And navigate the darkness...**_

_**Will the ending be,**_

_**ever coming suddenly?**_

_**Will I ever get to see,**_

_**the ending to my story?**_

After a few moments of silence, Zero's stomach made a weak growling sound, and she held her hands more tightly around her knees in an attempt to quiet it. But the sound didn't go unnoticed, and caused Beast and the others to either chuckle or smile at the girl on the bed.

"It sounds like your stomach needs some attention!" Beast said in a hearty tone; trying to hold in his laugh. "Let's get you a change of clothes, and we'll talk about getting food into you."

Zero looked down at herself, and noticed that she was topless with bandages covering her chest and stomach. She still had her jeans on, but they were ripped beyond repair. Needless to say that she looked like a mummy wrapped up in bandages like she was. She gasped and tried to hide herself from everyone in the room. Emma giggled at the girl and rested a hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry, Zero," she told her in a gentle tone, "the only ones who saw anything were us. The other children were waiting outside when we were fixing you up."

"Zey even pulled ze curtain to keep me from looking." Kurt said with a lazy smile; causing Zero to blush and look down at her knees.

"And besides, I'm a doctor. I've seen people naked lots of times in my day!" Beast reasoned in a fatherly tone. "Nothing happened to you from the time you were here."

Zero relaxed her tiny frame and blushed even more; still looking down at her knees. She was going to say something, but her stomach let out another growl; getting more urgent than before.

"I'll get you something to eat!" Kurt said in a pleasing tone; getting ready to leave the room.

Zero looked over at the others with a panicked expression on her face. "You don't have to do that!" She said in protest; trying to get up from her place on the bed.

"YOU'RE not going anywhere, young lady!" Beast said in a firm tone; holding her in place with a furry hand on her shoulder.

_**Show me what it's for!**_

_**Make my understand it!**_

_**I've been crawling in the dark,**_

_**looking for the answers!**_

_**Is there something more,**_

_**than what I've been handed?**_

_**I've been crawling in the dark,**_

_**looking for the answer!**_

Zero looked up at the doctor with a skeptical glare. "I've made it through worse than this. And besides, the sooner I can get up and moving around, the sooner I feel better." She said in a warning tone; giving them a green flag.

"Does it have anything to do with that accident that happened ten years ago?" Emma asked in a patient tone; giving Zero her attention and causing her to shoot a glare at her.

Zero gave Emma a darkened glare. "You have no idea what I've been through!" She roared in an unrealistic voice; completely changing her voice from the broken one she woke up with.

She then folded her arms over her chest, and looked away with a childish sneer. "Telling me that I can't get up and walk around. Please! I've been through a windshield and into heavy traffic." She said in a bitter tone; looking over at Beast with a flat gaze. "I've been out and skating on the ice in less than a month after a knee – replacement surgery and only two weeks after a hip surgery. I think I can handle simply walking around!"

Beast sighed and gave up on keeping Zero in bed, and went over to a closet across the room. "If you're so Hell – bent on moving around," he said in a scolding tone; pulling out a pair of crutches, (AN: Think of the ones with the arm bracers, not the regular ones!) "At least use these to get around."

Zero sighed and relaxed on the bed. "At least it's not a wheelchair." She said in a defeated tone. "I can't stand those! My butt hurts after a few minutes of sitting in those!" She said in a pleased tone; causing everyone to laugh.

"Well, I guess being a figure-skater tends to make you a little restless." Beast said in a hearty tone; causing the others the either smile or grin at the two arguing mutants. "Promise you won't overdo things and rest whenever you DO sit down."

Zero saluted Beast, and took the crutches from him; standing up on wobbly legs. Emma helped her slip her arms through the arm braces, and held her hand on her back as Zero leaned on them; trying to adjust her weight on the metal legs provided for her.

"I can handle this..." She said in a firm tone as she looked up at the group watching her take a step backwards; getting ready to move away from the others to try out the crutches.

"I'll take you to ze kitchen if you want." Kurt offered in an honest tone; walking over towards her; extending his hand out to the her and the other towards the door.

Zero looked over towards the others as if she were asking for permission to leave. Beast and Logan chuckled and gave her a grin.

"Why don't you give Slim here a tour of the mansion while you're at it, Kurt?" Logan said in a smug tone; earning a nudge to the side from the blue beast beside him.

"Just remember what I said, and I won't keep you down here." Beast called out in a fatherly tone; waving the two off, as he went to cleaning up the mess he made at the bed when he was checking up on the girl. (Before she woke up, he was checking her blood pressure, changing her bandages, ect.)

"Just don't eat too much all at once!" Emma said in a motherly tone; calling out after the two.

"And for goodness sake, Kurt, give her something healthy and come back down here in a little while so I can check your wounds!" Beast added in a warning tone; watching Kurt give him two thumbs up before he guided Zero put the sliding doors.

"She sure has a lot of problems, don't she?" Logan said in a defeated tone; shaking his head with a tired sigh.

"She's been through a lot. I would be surprised if she _didn't_ have any problems." Emma said in motherly tone; watching the door slide close after the two left.

"It takes time for wounds like that to heal. We just have to be patient with her, and hope for the best." Beast reasoned in a knowing tone; placing his tools back into their rightful places.

"I'm going to give the others a head's up about Zero." Logan said in a final tone; walking towards the door. "I don't want to have Kitty mad at me for not letting them know Zero is awake."

Beast chuckled and waved to Logan. "At it's you and not me!"

"Have fun with that, Logan." Emma said in a teasing tone; giving him a sly smile; making him growl and stalk out the door.

_**So when and how will I know?**_

_**How much further do I have to go?**_

_**And how much longer till I finally know?**_

_**Because I'm looking and I just can't see,**_

_**what's in front of me!**_

_**In front of me!**_

The duo made their way slowly down the hall, until Kurt knew they were no longer being watched. Once he made sure of that, he teleported them to the kitchen, and stepped away from Zero; watching her closely.

"I think I left my stomach back in that hall..." She groaned in a weakened tone; rubbing her stomach slightly with one hand; shifting the balance on one crutch as she did so.

Kurt smiled sadly at the girl, and helped her over towards the chair. "You'll get used to it, Zero." He cooed in a gentle tone; giving her a small smile, "I vas vanting to save us time." He explained; walking over towards the cupboard. "Now, vat vood you like to eat today?" He asked in a polite tone.

"I'm not a picky eater, sir." Zero said in an unsure tone; looking out the window. "Anything is fine."

Kurt chocked back a laugh, and looked over his shoulder at Zero. "I've neva been one for formalities, Zero." He said in a friendly tone; giving Zero his best smile. "You can just call me Kurt."

Zero looked back at Kurt, and gave him a smile of her own; holding her hands up in the air in surrender. "I can't help my family was big on manners." She said in a spiritless tone; looking back down at her hands on the table. "I guess that's about the only good thing mom's taught me."

Kurt looked down on the floor in front of him, and gripped the counter with his hands. He blinked away a few sympathetic tears, and looked back at the girl with a careless smile. "Vell, it's all in ze past now, Zero. Ve are your family now!" He replied in a happy tone.

Zero looked over at Kurt with shock in her eyes. She looked down at her hands again, and her eyes began to hollow out and glowed a dim red color. "That's the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me in a long time." She whispered in a quiet tone; not looking to meet Kurt's eyes. "Thank you, Kurt."

Kurt had finished making their soup, and took the bowls over towards the table. "Vell, if you decide to stay here vith us, then you'll hear a lot of zings like zat all ze time!" He said in a mighty tone; sitting across from her with his own bowl.

Zero looked around the kitchen and thought about her options. Where would she go if she decided to leave? Her only family had tried to kill her, as well as the people she grew up with that town. She already knew what would happen if she went out on her own. She knew by the way MRD went after her, that she wouldn't make it a day on her own. And these people who saved her have been so kind to her. Why would she want to leave?

_**Show me what it's for!**_

_**Make me understand it!**_

_**I've been crawling in the dark,**_

_**looking for the answer!**_

_**Is there something more,**_

_**than what I've been handed?**_

_**I've been crawling in the dark,**_

_**looking for the answer!**_

"You... you really don't mind me staying here, do you, Kurt?" Zero asked in a quiet tone; looking up at him with a surprised look on her face.

Kurt laughed and shook his head at her. "I voodn't have jumped into ze river to save you if I didn't vant you here." He told her in a smooth tone; giving her a playful wink.

Zero looked back down at her soup, and smiled down at the food provided for her. "It does feel safe and warm here... If it's not a problem to anyone else, I'd like to stay."

Kurt chocked on his food and gave Zero a shocked look. "Ve vant you here, Zero." He told her in a caring tone; reaching over the table, and lacing his hand over hers. "I vant you here."

"I think that's the first time in ten years someone has actually told me they wanted me." She said more to herself than to Kurt. She looked up at Kurt with a soft smile; feeling his sincerity through her powers; knowing he was telling the truth. "Thanks again, Kurt."

"Zat is vat I'm here for!" He told her in a happy tone; giving her his best smile. "Besides, ve are a family here and ve help our own!"

**It wasn't long** before Kitty walked into the kitchen with Bobby in tow. They found the two sitting at the table, and were slightly surprised to see Zero sitting down with them. They also found a pair of crutches propped up against the table beside her.

"You're already up and about?" Bobby asked in a shocked tone; rubbing his eyes to make sure he wasn't seeing things. "I would've milked it for another week or two!"

Kitty glared at the ice maker, and slapped him in the back of his head. "It's good to see you're up and moving around, Allyce. I was really worried about you." She said in a sisterly tone; giving Zero a warm smile. She however, became worried when she saw Zero glaring darkly at her, and took a step back. "Did I say something wrong?" She asked in a worried tone; looking from Zero to Kurt.

Kurt cleared his throat, and extended his hand towards Zero. "Her name is Zero now, Kitty. So from now on, she will go by zat name."

"I won't answer to Allyce anymore as of today." Zero said in a quiet tone; looking down at her bowl of soup.

"I'm sorry, Al- uh- Zero." Kitty said in an apologetic tone; taking a seat next to her.

Zero sighed, and pushed the bowl away. "I'm the one who should've been sorry. You didn't know what was going on, and I was completely rude." She said in a sad tone; looking up at Kitty was a sad smile. "Some guest I am, huh?"

Kitty smiled, and placed a hand on Zero's shoulder. "Don't worry about that, Zero." She told her in a forgiving tone.

"It happens to the best of us. And it's scary just imagining what you've been through!" Bobby said in a childish tone; his temper flaring up slightly at the thought of seeing Zero when they first saw her at her hometown. "And being out on your own has got to mess with you."

Kitty and Kurt sent a warning glare towards Bobby, and making him sit down quickly beside Kitty.

"You're not helping, Bobby." Kitty said in a warning tone; turning back to Zero with a soft smile. "So, how do you like it here at the institute so far, Zero?" She asked in a sisterly tone.

Zero smiled over at the girl beside her. "I haven't seen a whole lot of this place because someone had to poof us up here." She said in a playful tone; sending a mock glare at Kurt and making him 'meep' and duck his head low in shame.

Kitty shook her head at Kurt, and looked back over at Zero with a friendly smile. "Well, if you're up to it," she started in an offering tone, "I can show you around, or at least the way to your room."

"I would be so grateful! Thank you so much!" Zero said in a pleasant tone; pushing herself up from her seat. She made a move to grab her bowl, but Kurt stopped her by snatching it up before she could touch it.

"I vill take care of ze dishes, Zero." He told her in a firm tone but his smile betrayed him. "You just go have a look around. I vill join you two later."

Zero smiled at Kurt, and nodded. Kitty helped her get into her crutches, and guided her out of the kitchen with an excited smile; leaving the two to talk amongst themselves.

"... and by the way," Kitty said once they made it up the stairs, "I'm Kitty."

Zero nodded at Kitty, and made her way down the hall; allowing Kitty to hold her back in case she should fall. "So, what are your powers, Kitty?" She asked in a curious tone; looking at Kitty from the corner of her while trying to keep from bumping into anything that may be in her way.

"I can phase through solid objects." Kitty answered in a proud tone; helping the other girl turn a corner. "And you're an empath, aren't you? That means you feel other people's emotions, right?" She asked in a polite tone.

Zero shrugged her shoulders, and gave Kitty a smirk. "I feel other people's emotions like they're my own." She replied in an honest tone; moving on down the hall. "I can feel the curiosity and excitement coming off you as plain as day. It's like third grade all over again and I'm the shiny new toy."

Kitty blushed at that comment, and rubbed the back of her head. "Sorry about that, Zero. Besides, Emma and Ororo, I'm the only girl here since the explosion. It's nice to have another girl around my age to talk to." She paused for a moment before she decided to ask her another question. "Emma told me you had another power, is that true?"

Zero shrugged her shoulder. "I don't know for sure, but I think I can control paper. But I'm not very good at it. I first found out about that one when my mom tried to stab me with a kitchen knife. There were some bills and papers on the counter in my old kitchen that flew up, but when she came at me again, they didn't protect me."

"I saw the blood in your house when we went to find you." Kitty said in a sad tone; looking down at her feet as they walked down the hall. "I'm sorry that had to happen to you, Zero. I wish I could've been there sooner."

Zero smiled weakly over at Kitty, and looked back up in front of her. "It's alright, Kitty. You didn't know." She said in a soothing tone; letting Kitty know that she understood her.

Kitty gave Zero her best smile, and looked around the hall. She was surprised when they made it to the dorm rooms. She looked back at Zero with a bright smile. "And here we are! This is your new room!" She said in a happy tone; guiding Zero to turn around. "See? We went down that one hall and took this turn. Your room is with us younger people."

She pointed to the door right next to the one that she said was Zero's. "There's my room." She said in a proud tone, and pointed down the hall. "Kurt's room is the second door on the left and Bobby's is right across from his."

Zero nodded and memorized the room patterns, and looked back at Kitty with a curious look. "And where is everyone else's rooms?"

Kitty waved her off. "Well, Logan's room is the last door on the right. I wouldn't go in there in the dead of night. He gets mean when he's woken up. Emma's room is the one that separates the students' dorms and the teachers'. Hank's room is next to hers. But he's normally down in the lab or hospital wing. Ororo's room id next to Scott's room. Their rooms are the ones next to Emma's room. They're all normally out and about until it's time to go to bed. So, you'll hardly find them in their rooms."

"I'll keep that in mind. Thanks, Kitty." Zero told her in a polite tone; giving Kitty a slight nod.

Kitty leaned forward, and opened the door; letting Zero go in first. "Well, here's your new room, Zero." She said in a mature tone as she walked in after Zero was away from the door way. "I helped decorate the room when she told us to get you. If you don't like it; then I'll help you redecorate."

The room was much larger than her old room used to be. It's main colors were cranberry red and stoned gray. The carpet was the cranberry red with matching curtains. The bedding was the gray color and was a normal size. Not too big like a Queen size, but just big enough for her and maybe an extra person. There was a cherry wood desk beside the door with a dresser on the wall to its right. The closet was open and Zero could see that it was a fair sized walk-in closet that was placed across from the bed. The room was completed with a black beanbag chair that was sitting on a gray rug in front of a tall, narrow bookcase.

Zero's old room was the attic. She had a small bed, a cupboard for a closet, and a small dresser. She had all the requirements for her room, so it wasn't like she was treated poorly when it came to her needs. It was just so cramped compared to her new room.

"This room is nice the way it is, Kitty..." Zero said in a quiet tone; looking around at her room. "Thank you."

Just as Kitty walked over towards the bed, Kurt teleported into the room with a happy smile. "So, how do you like your new room, Zero?" He asked in a brotherly tone; his tail swishing back and forth.

Zero moved slightly within the room, and looked at her reflection in the mirror. Her eyes were no longer the duo eyes she once believed were her best feature, and were the red, pupil-less eyes. She already knew she still had her claws and fangs. Her bottom lip was still sore when she accidentally sliced it at the rink. She sighed and looked down at her feet; her bangs hiding her eyes from view.

Kitty looked over at Kurt, and saw him shrug his shoulders, and went over towards the closet, and pulled out her army bag. She held it up for Zero to see. "I saw this when we were heading back through the cemetery after we found you." She said in a gentle tone, giving the new girl a sweet smile. "I didn't look through it or anything. I can't explain it, but I just knew it was yours, so I picked it up and put it in here for you."

Zero smiled gratefully at Kitty and made a move towards her. "Oh, thank you for picking it up, Kitty! I thought that I'd never see it again!" She said in a happy tone; taking the bag from Kitty, and moving over towards the bed.

Kitty and Kurt sat on either side of Zero, and watched her open her bag; looking to make sure she didn't lose anything. "I promise I didn't look in your bag and I didn't take anything from it." She said in a pleading tone; hoping Zero believed her.

Zero pulled her head out of her bag and gave Kitty a shocked look. "It's nothing against you, Kitty," she said in a reassuring tone, "I just wanted to make sure that I didn't lose anything while I was running into the cemetery."

Kitty relaxed her tension, and looked over how Zero kept the bag close to her. "You're very protective since you found you still had that bag. What's in it that's so important to you?"

"Vat are you hiding?" Kurt asked in a sly tone; giving Zero a playful smirk.

Zero laughed politely at the girl beside her, and pushed her bag back slightly. "I just brought a few changes of clothes, and some of my personal things." She answered in a quiet tone. "That, and this was my brother's bag. So, it means worlds to me in itself."

Kurt tilted his head to the side, and looked over at Zero's shaking hands. "Your broza must have meant a lot to you." He stated as a matter of fact.

Zero nodded eagerly at the blue demon, and pulled out a picture frame from her bag. "Well, we were twins. We were always together." She said as she held up the for the two to see.

The picture was of the two posing in front of a skating rink. They were back to back with their heads turned towards the camera. They both looked to be small children – about eight or nine. They had arrogant smirks on their faces, and gave the camera a thumbs up. Kitty noticed how much alike they were. They both wore black and red windbreaker outfits, and even had the same thick black glasses! Since Zero's hair was shorter, and wasn't as "developed" as she was now, it was difficult to tell them apart!

"Vow!" Kurt said in an amazed tone; looking at the photo. "You two looked so much alike! It's hard telling you two apart!"

"Is he a mutant, too?" Kitty asked in an excited tone; looking over at Zero with impressed eyes. "What's his power?"

Zero moved her arm over Kurt's head, and placed it on the bed behind her. "He died in a ar accident 10 years ago. We were only 9 when it happened. He was D.O.A. …" She replied in a hurting tone; looking down at her knees; her bangs once again hiding her eyes. "In more was than one, apart of me had died with him."

"That's why you changed your name." Kitty asked in a sad tone. "And who could blame you. I'd do the same thing, too if I was in your position."

Kurt looked over at the girls beside him, and placed his hand over Zero's. "It must be hard for you."

Zero blushed and shook her head at the two sad mutants on either side of her; leaning back on her arms "Don't get me wrong, you two, it was pretty bad for a while. I couldn't even hold my head for the longest time, but I've had to learn that the world doesn't stop if one person is gone."

"But still..." Kitty said in an unsure tone; looking over at Kurt for help.

Zero smiled and placed a hand on Kitty's shoulder. "Kitty, please don't feel sorry for me. I've moved on, so there's no reason to feel bad. I won't lie to you: There are times when I just wanted to give up, but it's knowing that there are still kind people left in this world that keeps me going. As long as there are good people like all of you in this world; then it can't be so bad."

Kitty sniffed and wiped her tears dry; giving Zero a bright smile. "When you put it like that..." She trailed off. "How about we give you a tour? We have a great library downstairs." She offered in a friendly tone; her good mood coming back.

Zero smiled happily, and got her crutches back into place. "Now I know I'm staying!" She said excitedly; moving backwards so she could turn around. She looked over at Kurt with a happy smile on her face. "Are you coming, too, Kurt?"

Kurt smiled brightly at the girl and got up to his feet; joining the two girls. "I'll have us down zere in no time!" He said confidently at the two; placing his hand on their shoulders.

Zero moved away from Kurt's hand, and gave them a stubborn look. "Can't we wait to do that when I'm fully healed? I almost lost my lunch the first time you did that."

Kurt let out a happy laugh, and let go of Kitty's shoulder. He moved back and teleported over towards the door. "I figured as much." He said in a playful tone; opening the door for the two ladies to leave.

Kitty gave Kurt a sly smirk before she turned over at the girl behind her. "Don't worry, Zero, it gets better as you go along." She said in a reasoning tone; walking out the door to catch up with Kurt.

_'Maybe things really __**will**__ get better from here on out?' _Zero thought to herself as she turned to look back at the discarded photo frame on the bed. She gave the picture a brave smile, and hurried on out the door; hurrying as much as she could to catch up with the two waiting for her at the other side of the hall. _'There's only one way to find out...'_

Smile until you stop...

Wolf: Okay, that was REALLY hard to pick a song for... Sorry if it doesn't really match the chapter. It was an old song by Hoobastank. The song was called, "Crawling in The Dark". I thought it would fit more towards the end of the chapter.

Kurt: It really took her a long time to find a song this time.

Wolf: At least I'm trying! You're not helping me out at all! Emma was more supportive than you were!

Kurt: **runs away laughing**

Emma: Let's move along, shall we?

Wolf: **sighs and rolls eyes** I'll try to have the other chapter posted as soon as humanly possible. I actually don't have anything wrote. I was making the story up as I went all along. So it takes lots of time and effort. Unlike some people who have chapters already wrote and waiting to be posted. This was short notice and comes and goes.

Kitty: She also needs ideas, so if anyone has any, please feel free to PM her!

Wolf: I was supposed to say all that!

Kitty: You're too slow! **pushes wolf out of the way** please read and review and remember: Smile until you stop.

Everyone: Happy readings!


	4. The Fight

Logan: I gotta hand it to ya, Wolf, you made Zero out to be a total badass in that last chapter.

Wolf: Thanks, Logan! That's the nicest thing you've said all day!

Logan: **shrugs his shoulders and walks off**

Wolf: **Oo0** what's his deal today?

Bobby: I froze his motorcycle.

Wolf: Man, Bobby, you really shouldn't mess with Logan. He's stronger than you are and could use your head as target practice if you're not too careful there, buddy.

Bobby: **glares evilly at Wolf** Let's see if I can't use YOUR head as target practice...

Kurt: **poofs in between us** Hold on zere, Bobby! We need her ALIVE so she can finish our story and work on zat other one about ze X-Men!

Wolf: Thanks for the save, Kurt!

Wolf: Getting serious now. I'd like to take this time thank all my readers for reviewing my story. And that includes the positive feedback I've been getting from my fellow sidekick and co writer... Carlie! I also had to re – do the song a few times, but I think I get it right this time. Thanks a bunch! **Turns to Bobby** Hey, ice cube! It's your turn to do it! Get on that before I give your comics to the dogs!

Bobby: **yelps and turns to the readers** The Paper Wolf doesn't own Wolverine and the X-Men or any of the other Marvel comic characters. She just owns Zero and anyone or thing that might be in this story that isn't related to the marvel universe. She's just doing this story as a challenge and to the idiot who wanted her to make a BobbyxKitty fic, forget it. She thinks there's enough stories in that category as it is, and wants to add a KurtxOc story to the slim collection.

Wolf: **smiles and gives Bobby back is comics** That's much better than Emma's or Logan's disclaimer! Nicely done! Now, anyone who has anymore ideas or song requests for this story is free to contribute as long as they drop me a PM. And always... smile until you stop.

Bobby: Happy readings!

Chapter Four: The Fight

_I knew this was going to happen..._

_You've met your match..._

_Don't mess with me!_

_Your best bet is to stay away..._

_Don't count me off yet!_

_I'm the underdog,_

_and I'll take your best shot!_

_Here we go..._

_**December 15**__**th**___

After a few weeks of getting used to staying at the institute, Zero was starting to feel more relaxed safe there. She was especially growing fond of Kurt, she could tell that he was feeling the same things whenever they talked or spent time together. She did have empathetic powers after all. She'd never reveal to the others that she couldn't control her empathy, but she was managing well with her other power. Emma and Kurt were helping her with her paper manipulation. She never dreamed she would find so many nice people like the ones that took her in when she needed help the most. It was like seeing bits and pieces of her beloved brother in each of them.

She walked down the hall with a set of earphones attached to her MP3 player. It was one of a few items she took from her house before she was forced out. She no longer had to use crutches because she had fully recovered since she first arrived at the institute.

Zero has been getting along with nearly all of the X-Men. She and Kitty would often trade clothes and go on shopping trips together with Emma and Ororo. Emma had been working closely with Zero to help her further develop her powers. As far as she knows, Emma is the only one who actually knows about her lack of control over her empathetic powers, but is mastering her paper powers. Bobby and Kitty would sometimes sneak her out of the mansion to grab a bite to eat. Zero's even found a good chess partner in Beast. She'd always end up losing to a genius of his standards, but she always gave him a run for his money. Logan would show her a few fighting styles he's picked up; teaching her how to fight like the rest of the younger teens at the institute. He was extremely proud of her accomplishments since she had recovered from her attackers. (Her mother, the MRD, and the rest of the people in the town she used to live in). She however, didn't spend too much time around Scott though. She could pick up dark feelings from him, and would avoid him at any costs, even at the expense of leaving Kurt and going into her room. There was something about those feelings that made her feel slightly scared of the man. She couldn't figure out what those feelings were, but she was positive that nothing good could come out of them going through her like everyone else's feelings were.

Right now, she was on her way towards the library. She was supposed to meet Kurt down there She was only at the school for a short amount of time, and she had already knew her way around the grounds. She had promised to play a game of chess with him the last time she played against Beast after she had been looked over for the last time by the doctor. She picked up a slight jealous pang go through her heart and taking in consideration of the only two who actually been down in the hospital wing. She knew Beast was happy to play with her, so that only left Kurt with those jealous feelings. Without hinting at her empathetic powers letting her know what he was feelings, she promised to play against him as long as he told her when and where. Even though she enjoyed her time playing against Beast, she had once promised to play against Kurt. She was happy to spend time with the blue elf; she always thought highly of him, and grew very close to him during the short time they had together.

She wasn't paying any attention to where she was going, and ran into a tall, dark body when she rounded the corner that was near her destination.

"I'm sorry..." She said in a quiet tone; looking up to find Scott standing there in front of her. "I shouldn't be so careless."

Scott gave Zero a small smile, and placed a hand on her shoulder. "That's alright, Z. Just make sure you watch where you're going next time." He answered in a hollow tone; making his way back to his room.

Zero looked down at her feet, and grabbed her shirt above her heart. She felt those dark feelings again. She knew that they were coming from the man she just encountered and turned around to face him. "Are you going back to your room, sir?" She called out; making him stop in his tracks.

"What does it matter to you?" He called back; not turning around to look at Zero.

Zero looked down at the floor once again. "I know how you're feeling, sir. I've felt those feelings when my brother died... It drove me to the brink of insanity because I missed Ray so much..."

Scott turned his head to look at Zero from over his shoulder. He was quiet for a minute, and turned his head back to the front. "Don't worry about me, Zero." He said in a cold tone, as he continued on his way. "You need to worry more about yourself and less about others."

Zero let out a tiny growl from the back of her throat, as she watched the man walking away from her. "I'm sorry I ever bothered you..."

And with that, Kurt teleported to her side, and grabbed her hand; catching her by surprise. Zero screamed and fell flat on her rear.

"Are you alright, Z?" Kurt asked in a worried tone; looking down at the girl on the floor.

Zero growled angrily at the mutant in front of her. "I told you not to do that again, Kurt! You nearly scared the crap outta me!" She said in a mad tone; giving him a firm glare.

"I'm sorry, Z. I vas vondering vhy you haven't come to ze library yet, so I vent to find you." He replied in an apologetic tone; holding his hand out for her to take.

Zero narrowed her eyes at the blue elf, and felt how sorry he was. She knew she couldn't stay mad at him, and took his hand; bringing herself back up on her feet. Kurt had pulled a little too hard, and pulled her right against his chest; causing them both to blush in embarrassment. They pulled apart shortly afterwards and Kurt led her downstairs towards the library.

While the two were playing the game together, Zero felt an excited emotion coming from Kurt when he took her rook. She smirked playfully at him, and took his pawn; earning a groan of protest. It was a constant war with the two. If one takes a piece, the other would take another one.

**Meanwhile, Emma, Hank, Logan, Scott and Ororo were in the battle room; **talking about what they should do about Zero. They weren't going to turn her away or anything like that. They were talking about weather or not they should make her a junior member of the X-Men. They were all for the idea, but there was a few who didn't see it as a good idea.

"Are you kidding me?" Emma said in a snotty tone; folding her arms over her chest. "She may be old enough to decide for her own, but I think we should wait until I've evaluated her before we make that decision." She advised strongly; knowing fully well about her lack of control. She promised Zero that she wouldn't tell anyone about not being able to control her powers, but she was seriously thinking about telling them if they keep insisting that she join now. She was just figuring out why Zero was having trouble controlling that power, and she didn't want Zero to join if she couldn't control it on her own.

"I'd have to agree with Emma on this one." Scott scuffed as he folded his arms over his chest; giving Logan a determined glare from behind his visors. "She's practically a ticking time bomb with her powers."

Logan growled in annoyance at the two disagreeing X-Men standing at the table. "We could use her talents to reduce damage." He argued, "It'd crazy if we didn't let her in."

"Who knows?" Hank said with a simple shrug of his shoulders. "She might work even harder to better control her powers. And she's recovered enough to train with Bobby and Kitty."

"I could even make her trust us more." Ororo pointed out in a logical tone; standing her ground against the two concerned X-Men standing across the table from them.

Emma thought about the points the others made. Be as it may, she still wanted to make sure Zero had full control over her powers before letting her join the team.

Logan slammed his hand on the table in front of him with a cocky smirk. "That settles it." He said in a smug tone; smirking at the two across the table. "Our "No's" top your "Yes's". Zero is an honorary junior X-Man."

"I still don't think it's a good idea, but if you insist on letting her join the team," Scott stated in a surrendering tone; throwing his hands into the air as he marched towards the door. He looked back at Logan just before he leaves, "I want you to remember this day when you loses control of her powers and destroys our house."

And with that, he left the War Room. Everyone had looked down at their feet as his words sunk into their minds.

"If I remember correctly," Beast said in a logical tone; looking to Emma with knowing eyes, "you were the one that said you've been working with Zero to help her develop her powers."

Emma huffed and turned away from the others; crossing her arms over her chest. "I was helping her learn more about her powers." She stated as a matter of fact. "I also said she was making progress."

"So she can pretty much control her powers?" Logan asked in a serious tone.

"She's still learning about her powers. She does show progress and can control her powers depending on how much she uses them and for how long." Emma said in a formal tone; walking towards the door; not wanting to listen to their foolishness. "Don't let her over do things, and you should be alright... Should being the operative word here."

And with that being said and done; Emma made her leave. She made it back to her office; stopping just short as she saw Kurt and Zero playing chess in the library. They seemed to be having so much fun together, she didn't want to interrupt the two, and quietly making her way past the room and down the wall.

**"That's not fair, Kurt!" **Zero cried out in protest; getting up from her seat and pointing accusingly at the blue demon in front of her, "You cheated! There's no way you could've pulled that move!"

Kurt chuckled and leaned back in his seat. "You are just mad zat I defeated you." He said in a smugly tone; crossing his strong arms over his chest.

Zero pouted and sat back down in her seat; glaring at Kurt in annoyance. "I still think you cheated." She mumbled in a damaged tone.

Kurt laughed at the look she was giving him and began putting the pieces back into place. "Von more game zen? Best zu outta zree?"

Zero didn't give it anymore thought, and began picking up the pieces; helping Kurt set the board for who knows how many times for that day. She didn't care how many times she won or lost against him or Beast, she was just happy having someone to help her not think about things that would only bring her down. She always had to not let anything bother her, and she did very well. But even though she suffered greatly, she always had to get back up and keep going. No matter how much she wanted to just break down and cry.

But since she was with the X-Men, she didn't feel all the hurt and sorrow she was forced to burden for all that time. Why didn't she go to them sooner? Why did it have to come to her getting thrown out of her house and town to have met them? She didn't feel like crying whenever they were around. It was like she had her family back.

Kitty reminded her of a sister she always wanted, and Bobby and Kurt reminded her of herself and her brother when they were together. Logan was like a father figure in certain ways. Emma was like a mother Zero remembered her mother used to be before her family was torn apart. Even Hank and Ororo were like an aunt and uncle to her. She had a sense that they wanted her there. It was like they were all family, and they had adopted Zero.

She was about to pick up her king when Scott entered the room, and walked towards the two with a firm look in his face. Zero felt those feelings coming from Scott returning through her heart, and caused her to put her hands down under the table and onto her lap.

"Oh, Scott." Kurt said in a slightly surprised tone; looking up at the man coming towards them. "Fancy meet you here."

Scott ignored the blue demon, and kept his eyes on Zero; stopping just in front of her; making her grip her knees in a vain attempt to make his emotions go away. "We've come to a decision, Zero, and you're now a junior member of the X-Men." He said in a hollow tone; keeping his arms close to his sides. "You're training begins immediately."

"Really?" Kurt asked in an excited tone; looking to Zero with the same excitement in his eyes.

Zero narrowed her eyes at Scott for a moment, and tucked her bangs behind her ears. "But Miss Emma says I still need work on controlling my powers." She said in an unsure tone; not taking her eyes off of Scott; making sure he wouldn't try to pull anything. (TPW: Not in any sexual way, get your minds out of the gutter!)

Scott ignored her warning, and grabbed her upper arm; keeping her in place. "Like it or not, Zero, but we've got a long way to go."

Zero had a hint of doubt in her eyes as her grip tightened even more against her knees; drawing blood from her flesh. Zero could help having those annoyed feelings others had whenever they were to help her learn more about her powers, and she couldn't help but want those feelings to leave their hearts so she wouldn't feel so bad. After everything she went through, she should be allowed to be at least a little bit selfish.

She looked up at Scott with defiance in her eyes. Before she could say or do anything, Scott had grabbed her arm firmly to keep her in place, and gave her an important look on his face. She looked over at Kurt with an apologetic look.

"I'll see you later for a rematch." She said in challenging tone; getting up from her seat; following the older man across the room.

They had made it down the hall and down towards the hidden elevator; leading down those their base. They had been silent the whole time with Scott walking directly at her side the whole time to make sure she wouldn't try to run away. He kept his eyes trained directly ahead, while Zero had her head tilted He guided her in towards the changing rooms where her training outfit was. He stood right outside the door; making sure she didn't run out on him.

She came out in a standard training uniform shortly afterwards. It was styled similar to Kitty's outfit, but was mostly gray. She wore gray boots that ended up to her shins with tight leather pants and a sash hung loosely at her hips; the tails the were knotted on her right hip. The top half of her outfit was cut to show off her arm; keeping them free to move more easier. And she had gray leather bracers that started out at her hands and ended to her elbow. (TPW: Think of the Elektra outfit without the goofy looking bandana and gray instead of red.)

Her hair was done up in a high bun with bangs sliding over the scar on the side of her face. She had her glasses taken off and stored away so she wouldn't break them; revealing her demonic red eyes more clearly.

Scott nodded to Zero and guided her towards the Danger Room where she normally went in with either Emma and Ororo or with the trio. But this time, it was with Scott. The one who was always by himself, who was never wanting to accept help from others and would lash out at Logan whenever he had the chance.

Zero made it into the room, and made her way towards the center of the room with Scott not too far behind. They stood about ten feet away from each other, and Zero looked around the room, and wondered what the man standing in front of her had in mind for their training session today.

"So what am I going to be doing today, sir?" Zero asked in a defensive tone; getting ready for whatever the Danger Room had in store for her.

"You'll be fighting me." Scott replied in a court tone; standing ready for a fight. "There's no real risk when you're fighting make believe enemies."

Zero gasped and took a step back. She quickly steadied her legs and stood her ground against him.

"If you know somewhere in the back of your mind that you won't get hurt; then you'll never give it your best." Scott continued in a monotone; not taking his eyes off of the girl before him. "I'm your enemy in here and I don't expect you to hold back... because I won't be."

Zero shrank away from Scott, and felt zero to none emotion coming from the man; telling her that he was serious. "Why do I have a feeling I'm not going to like this?" She asked in a slight joking tone; keeping her eyes fixed on the older man.

"Here we go." Scott said in a final tone, as the lights began to go bright.

_**You get up.**_

_**Somebody tells you where to go to...**_

_**When you get there, **_

_**Everybody's telling you what to do...**_

The scene changed where Scott and Zero were a type of battle arena. They were in a steel cage that gave them lots didn't really give them much room. At least that statement were true on Scott's behalf, Kurt had taught Zero a few acrobatic tactics, so she could jump out of the way and keep from reach towards the top of the cage.

Zero held her head down low, and took in her surroundings. Even though she had her eyes elsewhere, Scott knew that she was on full alert; keeping him in her peripheral vision.

"Let's see what you've got, Zero." Scott said in a serious tone as he aimed his optics directly at Zero; preparing to fire off a few warning shots at her.

Zero jumped away from the blast in time to cling onto the back wall; giving Scott her full attention now. "What are you doing?" She said in a slightly louder voice; giving Scott an angry glare. "I wasn't ready yet!"

"Your enemy isn't going to wait for you to get ready." Scott said in a hollow tone; as he pointed his eyes at Zero once again; this time firing off a real shot to her.

_**Thank you.**_

_**It's been another bloody Monday.**_

_**And no one,**_

_**is asking what you wanted anyway...**_

Scott fired a shot at Zero's head; missing it and striking her shoulder. She let go of the bars, and fell to the floor with a heavy thud; landing on her side.

Zero growled and looked up at Scott with a hated glare; baring her fangs at him. "I'm just getting started, old man." She responded in a wicked tone; her eyes glowing an angry red.

And with that, she started to go on the offensive. She threw in a few kicks and punches here and there, but Scott dodged them with ease. It looked like he wasn't even trying to get out of the way. She was so sloppy with throwing her attacks at him.

He gained the upper hand, and gave her a quick punch to the stomach; sending her flying across the cage and slamming her back against the steel bars.

_**No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no!**_

_**No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no!**_

**By this time**, Kurt had teleported into the observation room that was built above the Danger Room. Once he was in there, he saw Emma and the others standing there watching Scott use Zero as target practice. He saw Zero dodge and run around the cage; avoiding getting hit by Scott's blasts.

"Vat is going on?" He demanded in an outraged tone; looking to the others in the room for an explanation. "I zought zis vas a training session, not an execution!"

Emma sighed and turned her attention back towards the blue elf with a tired sigh. "She's learning how to control her powers, Kurt." She said in a serious tone; looking Kurt straight in the eyes. "As long as she knows she won't get hurt while training with whatever program we run for her, she'll never give it her all."

"But since we're here," Beast spoke up in a firm tone; making Kurt calm down slightly. "if things get out of hand, we'll step in and stop them from killing each other."

Kurt relaxed his body only just slightly and walked over towards the window. He watched Zero jump and duck each blow that was sent her way; smirking to himself when he saw the moves he showed her only a few times, and she was able to pull them off as if she were doing them since she was a child. It was shocking how much she's learned in such a short amount of time she was staying with them. Emma once told Nightcrawler that she has the ability to learn things just by watching them shown to her.

"When are you going to use your powers, Zero?" Scott ordered in a solid tone; firing away at Zero; trying to hit her with full force.

"I'm not stuck here with you..." Zero said shortly; jumping towards the bars across from her. "... you're stuck in here with me..."

She saw an opening and jumped down in front of Scott; giving him a round house kick to the shoulder with such a force that it sent him crashing into the wall behind him.

She stood upright, and faced the experienced fighter with a determined look in her eye. He got to his feet like it was nothing, and faced Zero once again.

"I'll hand it to you, Zero." He said in a robotic tone; keeping his eyes on the girl in front of him. "You're pretty good for a figure skater."

Zero smirked and got back into a fighting stance. "Just because I was skating since I was two does mean I can't fight back." She said in a witty tone; giving Scott and deadly glare. "I just have a better strategy than you do."

Scott placed his hand back to the side of his visor. "Oh? " he asked in mock curiosity. "And what strategy is that? Running away? That's just like you..._Allyce. _You always run from conflict and do your absolute best to avoid fighting against people." He stated in an empty tone; firing off a shot at Zero; making her yelp in surprise and jump away in time. It was clear she was a quick study. She reminded Scott of his early years.

Zero growled angrily at the man before her. She had always loved her name, but ever since that day her mother tried to kill her, and told her that her daughter was dead, she soon hated her name to a point where it triggers her anger. And she knew Scott knew it.

_'That's right, Zero.'_ Scott thought to himself, as he danced his way around the girl; dodging her sloppy punches and kicks. _'Lose control of your powers. Prove to the others that you're not ready to be an X-Man... You'll be safer that way... at least for a while.'_ He landed a blunt kick to her stomach and sent her flying across the cage; hitting her back once again against the bars; and crashing down to the floor.

_**'Scream!**_

_**Until you feel it.**_

_**Scream!**_

_**Until you believe it.**_

_**Scream!**_

_**And when it hurts you,**_

_**scream it out loud!**_

"If that's the best you can do, then I think you're in way over your head, Zero." Scott said in a soulless tone; walking over towards Zero with an unforgiving stare. "You're not cut out to be an X-Man."

Zero coughed up some blood, and slowly got back up on her feet; surprising everyone watching her recover from an attack from Scott. She didn't care that she had no control over her empathy, and she could feel those dreaded feelings coming from Scott. He just pretty much degraded her for not having total control over her powers. She didn't even care that she might wind up back in the hospital wing with a pair of worried blue mutants hovering over her for the next few days... She was just plain pissed. Plain and simple.

"You won't last a week with the X-Men if you let your powers control you." Scott told her in a nasty tone; stopping just a few feet from her; staring her down.

"Don't ever..." She said in a struggled tone; looking up at the man while wiping blood from the corner of her lower lip. "Don't you ever..." She growled out in a deadly tone; getting into a different fighting stance.

Her knees were positioned apart and her right hand was placed by her hip and the other was in front of her. It was a different fighting style; not so much like her defensive ones when she clung to the walls. It was more aggressive and wild looking. Unlike any anyone has ever seen her in during her previous training sessions.

"Don't you ever... underestimate me!" And with that, Zero's eyes began to glow an evil red color and her cards began to fly out of her sash; circling around her like when her mother first tried to come at her with the kitchen knife. Zero thrust her arm beside her hip forward; bringing her other hand back and sending her cards flying towards Scott. Her empathy was getting so strong that her audience could see black lightning snapping from head to toe around her body; giving her an electrified appearance.

_**Scream!**_

_**Until you feel it.**_

_**Scream.**_

_**Until you believe it.**_

_**Scream!**_

_**And when it hurts you,**_

_**scream it out loud.**_

Scott easily fired at the cards flying towards him. He didn't know that they were simply a distraction for Zero to charge in and give him a left hook to the face; knocking him down on the ground.

Logan smirked and folded his arms over his chest; and looked over at Kurt. "She learned that from me." He said in a proud tone; looking back at Zero with a proud father appearance about him that made the others roll their eyes at him.

"I still don't zink zis is such a good idea. She's still learning to control her powers." Kurt mumbled to himself, as he watched the two below exchange blow after blow. "Scott could very kill her if he keeps up like zis."

Emma turned to Kurt with a smug smile on her face. "Don't worry about that, Kurt," she assured in a reasoning tone; looking back to the two fighting as well, "if it comes to that, then we'll simply have to stop them, won't we?"

Beast placed a friendly hand on Kurt's shoulder, and gave him a gentle smile. "They have been at it for about ten minutes and she had only till now to unleash her powers. Let's give them a few minutes to see if we were right about making her a part of our family."

Kurt huffed and turned away from Beast to look back at Zero; whom was now blindly throwing harsh punches at Scott's face; aiming to knock him out in fear. "I still don't like it."

_**Scream... scream it out loud...**_

**Scott was finally able to get Zero away from him long enough for him to reach up and and turn on his visors**; shooting rapid blasts off towards her while keeping her away from him. He was taking control over the fight once again.

"If you keep going at this rate," he called out to her before he blasted her off the bars; making her run around in circles again, "you'll always just be another victim... Like the first time you encountered the MRD in your hometown."

Zero paused for a moment and looked at Scott with frightened eyes; images of that day flashing quickly through her mind. Her mother telling her her family was dead when she found out she was mutant. Going into the kitchen to find her mother holding a knife towards her. Her active powers manifesting for the first time; protecting her from her mother's assault. Her powers failing to protect her the second time and the townspeople forcing her from her home.

"I don't want that..." She said to Scott through her teary eyes.

"Then use what you were born with!" Scott snapped in a harsh tone; preparing to fire at Zero once again. "And see if you can stop me..."

This time; instead of running away or dodging the blast, Zero used her powers to block Scott's optic beams; her cards holding up a barrier much like when her mother first came after her with the hated knife. The barrier held fine against Scott's blasts, and all her energy was flying to the surface of her tiny body. She charged for Scott; throwing punches and kicks as he made his way around her; mocking her to further anger her.

"You're forcing it," Scott warned in a firm tone; giving Zero a side kick to the ribs and sent her to the ground. "Don't force it."

Zero spat up some blood, and got back to her feet. "Don't write me off just yet, _Cyclaud_!" She screamed now; connecting her fist to his jaw.

Scott straightened his body and walked back over towards the girl unrelenting. "I feel sorry for you, Zero." He said in a hollowed tone, getting ready to fire at Zero once again. "I'll take you out in one shot okay? It'll safe you the humiliation later."

Zero laughed wildly at the man in front of her, and got within point blank range before she launched herself on Scott's shoulders. She hurled her upper body upwards, and punched him once with both hands before she thrusts her upper body backwards; sending them both to the ground with an unforgiving thump.

"And I say you're even dumber than you look if you think you can take me down!" Zero said in a dark tone; getting up from the floor to face Scott, whom was already getting back up on his feet; getting into a fighting stance of his own.

_**Watch out!**_

_**Stay awake**_

_**they're lurking...**_

_**Obsess you...**_

_**They are always working.**_

**"Scott is going vay too far!"** Kurt cried out in an outrage; taking a step towards the controls to stop the fight.

Emma held her hand out in front of Kurt; not taking her eyes from the two down below them. "Not yet," she said in a knowing tone. "She's starting to forget about her doubts and fears. I think this is a good sign. Let's just wait a little while longer and see what happens next."

Kurt gasped and rolled his three large fingers into tight fists. "But vat if ve are too late?" He challenged in a serious tone; making his point by pointed a finger towards the glass where the two were out fighting with everything they've got. "Vat vill happen then?"

"We'll stop them if it gets too out of hand... _if_..." Logan said in a fatherly tone; watching Zero duck and dodge blows and use her powers in combination with her fighting skills. If she was going to go down today; then she might as well not go down without a fight.

She was still mad at Scott for using her real name and degraded her harshly when he knew as well as anyone else that she was really doing her best to gain control over her powers.

Zero had finally gotten a lucky hit to her enemy's stomach when she leaned backwards to avoid a direct hit from him; and spring boarded into his stomach; sending him back to the ground.

He managed to wipe off a little spot of blood from the corner of his mouth, and gave Zero a heartless glare through his visors. "Alright, Zero. That was pretty good. But now I'm getting serious!" He declared as he lifted his hand up to his visor again and prepared to shoot at her again.

Zero gave Scott a blunt stare for a moment. "Oh, good. I was hoping you would." She stated in a blunt tone before she gave him a cocky smirk; finally getting into the fight. It was like she was into her figure skating competition again. She brought her hand in front of her face, and clenched it into a fight fist. "Because I'm seriously going to knock you out!"

And with that, she charged for Scott once again. This time, she landed a successful blow to the left of his head, and a harsh kick to his side. With the force of her strength during her training as a figure skater, she was able to send Scott flying against the bars of the cage. The training she endured as a figure skater made her tough enough to the stand up after she fell down, and she could take a lot of beatings. But after a while, she would wear down and be left wide open. She needed to end this fight, and she needed to do it now. But with an opponent like Scott or Wolverine, how can she make someone like them stay down? She was pretty strong on her own with the help of the trio and putting what she picked up off them and her own previous training as a figure skater, it was only a matter of time before her body would give out.

_**Promising,**_

_**everything you never asked for.**_

_**And one day,**_

_**it'll be too late,**_

_**and you'll beg for more.**_

Zero has finally gotten the upper hand in this fight. It turns out that her lack of control over her empathy was turning out to be a good thing. She was using that flaw against Scott. Without so many words, Zero could tell he was getting angry with her for playing with him like the way she was doing now.

She would duck and dodge his attacks, and go after him; striking him and going back to avoid any assaults he might try to land on her. It was like cat and mouse. Scott hadn't learned that she was trying to wear him out yet; giving her the advantage for the time being.

So far, she reminded him of Kurt during their previous spars. It was a little unnerving how much alike the two were. But that didn't stop Scott from wanting to win this match and prove his point that Zero shouldn't be allowed to join the team so early into her training for control. He will give her credit and say that she is improving more than most students her age had, but she hasn't learned the full extent of her powers yet. If she doesn't know what she's capable of, then who knows what could happen should she not be able to control her powers should they grow out of control.

Zero felt the worried feelings coming from the man attacking her, it was like he let his guard down, and forgotten that she was an empath. She felt worry each time he landed a blow to her. It was agonizing to feel all those emotions, and all she wanted was to make it stop. She was even having the same worried feelings from the ones who were watching the fight take place. It was beginning to be too much for her to a point where she could hardly tell whose feelings belonged to who and which ones were her own.

**Kurt growled furiously at Scott for hurting Zero,** and leaned on the glass. "Make him stop!" He roared in a hateful tone; banging on the glass in hopes of getting the attention of the two fighting below.

Logan huffed and folded his arms over his chest. "She looks like she can hold her own." He said in a final tone.

"And she's already showing that she has more control over her powers than she did when she first started training." Emma reasoned in a thoughtful tone; watching Zero struggle against Scott's attacks while executing her own. "Maybe I was wrong about her."

Kurt growled in frustration, and turned his back to see Zero fighting with Scott. She did look like she was holding her own like those around him, but he believed that no woman should fight against a man larger and stronger than she is.

_**No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no!**_

_**No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no!**_

Kurt gasped when he saw her flip backwards, and kick Scott to the chin; sending him backwards. He knew she was aiming to send him to the ground, but Scott stayed on his feet; walking back towards Zero once again. Scott landed a successful optic blast that pushed Zero's paper dome backwards against the wall. Her eyes were glowing a slightly blinded red light now; telling him that she was putting more into keeping her dome in place so she wouldn't get hurt.

But soon, he noticed that she was using her powers to create some kind of armor from the paper she was using to shield herself from Scott's attack. The paper itself had formed perfectly against Zero's body, and looked as though it were actually her original clothes.

Zero had her eyes closed the whole time, and had been screaming in fear for getting hurt. She had no idea her powers were shielding her in that manner, but she found out first hand what her powers were doing when she opened her eyes.

Her shield was completely gone now, and she was getting full-on blasts from Scott's optics. She thought she was unprotected, but a closer look from the less damage from the blasts told her somewhere in her that she wasn't getting hurt and her powers are still active.

**In an outraged cry**, Zero launched herself in front of Scott, and was throwing punch after punch, and kick after kick. From the way she was fighting, Kurt could tell that she wasn't holding anything back anymore. Her punches and kicks were no longer hers, they were more demonic and agile than before.

_**Scream!**_

_**Until you feel it.**_

_**Scream!**_

_**Until you believe it.**_

_**Scream!**_

_**And when it hurts you, **_

_**scream it out loud...**_

Scott was hit by a nasty kick to the side. He grabbed the bars behind him to keep himself from hitting the ground next; panting in a vain attempt to catch his breath. He looked over at Zero, and saw her hunched over to the point where her head was tucked tightly between her legs; grabbing the sides of her head in pain.

"It's happening again!" Zero said in a frightened tone; sealing her eyes shut against the pain in her head. "Make it stop! Please, someone help me!" She screamed out in panic; her tiny body shaking with each scream that passed her lips.

Scott pushed himself away from the wall and began walking towards Zero; carefully avoiding getting hit by an out of control card that flew by. "You have to learn how to control it!" He shouted at her; trying to get close to her.

A card flew past Scott's head and zoomed past his left cheek. The force of it was so powerful that just the wind cut his cheek. He squatted down to keep from getting hit by the cards flying around, and kept trying to get close to her.

"I don't know how to control it! It's too much!" Zero screamed as the cards seems to hurt her now; striking her limbs. One card actually hit the side of her neck, and caused blood to leek out from the wound. "The emotions! They're too much! I can't block them out!"

"You can do this, Zero! Focus! You're the only one who can control your power! Don't let it control you!" Scott shouted out in a commanding tone; keeping his position below her.

**Kurt growled again and tightened his fists against the glass.** He looked to the others who all too shocked to do anything.

"I figured as much." Beast said in a thoughtful tone; keeping his eyes on the girl's actions.

Kurt looked over at Beast with a vengeful glare. "Vat is it, Hank?" He asked in a low growl; not taking his yellow eyes from the beast next to him.

"It would appear to me that Zero is having trouble controlling her empathetic powers." He stated in a logical tone. "She and Emma have been at it for quite some time now, and even though the training and sessions they did she still has trouble controlling it."

Emma tightened her hands into fists, and looked down at the floor in shame. "It's true. Even though she has control over her active power," she said in a shameful tone; not looking anyone in the eyes, "it's because of the accident that took her brother's life that she is permanently unable to control her passive powers. She can't turn it on and off like anyone of us can."

"And Vhy haven't you vaited until now to tell us zis bit of information?" Kurt demanded in an unforgiving tone as he stared Emma down.

Emma turned her eyes towards Kurt. "Because _Zero_ begged me not to." She said in a snotty tone. "She didn't want anyone to know that she can never control her empathy. I've also realized that her strength comes from the emotions she feels. The stronger the emotion, the stronger she becomes scared like she is now." She said in a teaching tone; pointing to the girl fighting for control down in the room. "She can focus too well and her powers get out of control; causing her become even more scared. If she's calm or happy then she has total control over her powers."

Kurt said nothing against Emma after that. He just looked back out the window, and prayed that Zero won't get hurt.

_**Scream!**_

_**Until you feel it.**_

_**Scream!**_

_**Until you believe it.**_

_**Scream!**_

_**And when it hurts you,**_

_**scream it out loud!**_

Scott got up on his feet when he noticed that Zero's cards had been passing by him less and less. He started walking towards again, but this time, he was trying his best to keep his worry to the front of the rest of his mind and heart; hoping Zero would pick up on it and motivate her into getting control of her powers before she wrecks the whole place she now calls home.

"No... stay away from me!" Zero cried out in a startled tone; taking a step back from Scott.

"Don't give into your powers, Zero!" Scott pleaded desperately, trying to get through to her as best he could.

**Kurt couldn't take it anymore, **and teleported down into the Danger Room. He appeared next to Scott and stood his ground against the cards that flew past him.

"You're stronger than you think!" He shouted urgently; dodging a card that was about to hit his stomach.

Zero screamed and held her head more tightly in her hands; drawing blood from the sides. "I can't! It hurts... Make it stop!" She screamed as she backed away blindly; hitting her back against the wall behind her; causing her to yelp and her powers to go wild once again.

**"Clear your mind, Zero!"** Emma called out through her mind. "Focus everything you have on your powers! You can do it!"

"She sure has a lot of power for a girl her size, doesn't she?" Ororo said in a worried tone; looking to Logan with a doubtful gaze. "Maybe she isn't ready enough to be an X-Man."

Logan huffed and glared at Storm for a second, and looked back to see Zero trying harder than she ever could to gain the control she needs. "I'd say we made the right choice in making her a member of the team." He said in a firm tone; not taking his eyes off of Zero's tiny body struggling down below them. "Just look at her go. She's learned more within the time she's been here with us than any one of us have in a year. I'd say she's ready."

_**Back to Zero!**_

_**Your time's about to come!**_

_**Let them know,**_

_**you're not just anyone!**_

**Zero didn't know what to do.** She knew she had to get control over her powers, and she had to do them now. She managed to open her eyes to see Kurt and Scott struggling to get away from the paper flying at them. She then felt the paper that was covering her was actually making her go after Scott. She screamed and tried her best to hold back her kicks and punches, but her powers just aren't able to be controlled. It was like they had a mind of their own!

"You have to control zis, Zero!" Kurt called out in a firm tone; grabbing Scott's shoulder, and teleporting them both to the other side of the cage and away from major danger. "You _are_ stronger zan you zink! I believe in you!"

And with that, Kurt teleported back into the cage, and stood in front of Zero; holding his ground to prove his point. He held his arms out wide and stared straight at Zero; not taking his eyes off of her for a moment.

Zero's body began to dash forward, and threw a few sucker punches to Kurt's slender frame. "Kurt!" She cried out as she tried to pull her punches; only to make her power grow even more. "Get out of here before it's too late!"

_**You're time's about to come...**_

"Not vithout you!" Kurt called out in a firm tone; fighting to keep his body upright. "I know you won't hurt me on purpose! I believe in you!"

Zero was about to strike Kurt in the face again, but she actually managed to stop herself this time. Her body was still shaking, and she knew she couldn't keep her powers in control for long. It was only a matter of time before they took control over her again, and who knows what would happen to Kurt if she couldn't control her powers.

Kurt seemed to have known this, and took a slight step forward in an effort to touch her arm. "Please fight it, Zero. I've seen you do so much vith your power. You're too strong to allow it to take you over."

Zero screamed and fell to her knees, and just like that, all the pain, all the cards everything seemed to have fallen lifelessly on the ground around them. She stared straight at Kurt and was panting in pure exhaustion. She smiled weakly when she saw Kurt kneel down before her.

_**Scream!**_

_**Until you feel it.**_

_**Scream!**_

_**Until you believe it.**_

_**Scream!**_

_**And when it hurts you, **_

_**scream it out loud.**_

Scott looked around the room, and noticed all the things that were digitized from the start were starting to fade away; leaving the room empty once again. He got up from his seat, and walked over towards the two with a faint smile.

"Nicely done, Zero." He said in a simple tone; looking down at Zero as she tried to catch her breath. "You've come a long way."

Zero looked up at Scott with a serious look on her face. She coughed a few times; hanging her head with each cough until they died down.

"There was nothing nice... about it..." She struggled to say as she slowly got up from her feet. She held her head down low and all her powers were slowly fading away. "You had no right... doing that... do me..."

Scott didn't seemed too upset with that. He knew he had done a terrible thing to her by calling her by her true name. A name that he knew she hated more than anything because it reminded her of the life she was forced to leave behind. He wished it didn't have to come to that, but it had to be done if Zero was going to be an X-Man.

"I'm sorry, Zero. I was just trying to help you learn how to control your powers." He said in a weak defense; looking down at the ground. "But on the bright side, it looks like you have more control of your powers now. That's an accomplishment that took years for any one of the X-Men that came before you. That's something to be proud of."

_**Scream!**_

_**Until you feel it.**_

_**Scream. **_

_**Until you believe it.**_

_**Scream!**_

_**And when it hurts you, **_

_**scream it out loud.**_

Zero's head snapped up and she turned her eyes towards Scott; not even bothering to hide the tears that were now pouring out of her eyes.

"You think that I should be proud of this?" She asked in a serious tone; not taking her eyes off of Scott. "You have no idea what it was like growing up for me! Having these powers were a true curse for me true to form!" She said in a low growl. "Always training, always alone! My own mother tried to kill me! And that does something to someone!"

Scott didn't reply to that comment, and looked down at his feet. He looked back at Zero with an emotionless look on his face. "I'm sorry, Zero, but learning the extent of your powers should've been square 1. That's the way I learned my powers as well as everyone else here. And you're no different."

Zero's tears kept falling from her eyes. "You think that's the best way I should go about learning to control my powers?" She argued in a hollow tone. "You're even dumber than you look. Learning about your powers and how to control them should the first thing to teach someone like _me_! It's easy for you because you've always had someone behind you to keep pushing you and telling you you could go all the way. What did I have? Huh? Tell me because I would really like to know!"

Scott was going to say something, but decided that it was best to leave it at that. He didn't want to hurt Zero or make her upset, but he did what he thought needed to be done. He couldn't deny that he was proud of her for not hurting Kurt at the last moment, but she still needed to learn how to control her powers. She could still hurt someone or herself if she wasn't careful. Everyone knew it, but still...

He decided that they were done for the day, and began to walk out of the room. He knew Zero was pretty upset with him, and didn't want to bother her anymore. She was already beaten up and probably needed to get checked out by Hank. He gave her one last look before he made his way out of the Danger Room.

Zero waited until the door closed before she grabbed her hip in pain. She gasped, and looked down at her side to see blood dampening the suit that was damaged in the fight. She sighed and looked at Kurt with a tired look on her face.

"I guess this is the part where I go and apologize to Scott," she said in a childish tone; looking over at the door, "isn't it?"

Kurt shook his head and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder; taking a step to her side in case she needed help. "You vere right to defend yourself." He spoke in a logical tone as he gave her a soft smile. "He had no right to do vat he did. I say he got vat his deserves."

"Couldn't have said it better myself, elf." Logan called out through the speaker; causing the duo to look up. "You did good today, patch. Hit the showers and have Hank take a look at you. Kurt will help you."

Zero looked down at her hand, and flexed it a few times. "That's alright," she said in a hollow tone, "I can make it on my own."

She then slowly made her way towards the exit, but stopped just short of leaving the room. She looked over her shoulder and gave Kurt a lazy smile. "Don't worry about me, Kurt. I look worse than I feel."

Kurt gasped and teleported by Zero's side and placed a worried grip on the girl's arm; holding her back. "Please be reasonable, Zero! You're hurt. Let me help you."

Zero gasped and closed her eyes against the sharp pain in her head. She moaned and slightly struggled against Kurt's loose grip. "This is why I didn't want you to help, blue." She mumbled in a sharp hiss; placing her hand in front of herself. "I promise I got this. I'll be done and I'll see you for dinner, okay?"

And with that, Zero made her way out of the Danger Room; leaving Kurt and the others to watch her make her way down the hall.

Emma sighed and folded her arms over her chest, as she stared down at the teleporter inside the room below. "It looks like I have to start all over again with that one." She said in a disappointed tone; making a deep frown fall upon her beautiful face. "Thanks a lot, Scott."

"I've worked with Zero, as well, Miss Frost." Hank said in as a matter of fact. "Despite what you think about her now. She's not normally this resilient and often was so mean when she spoke about herself whenever I spoke of figure skating. I suggest that her mother was verbally abusing to the point where she believed what her mother."

Logan looked down at Kurt, and noticed that he had teleported out of the Danger Room. "I still think she should join the team." He said in a final tone as he made his way out of the room; leaving the others to talk amongst themselves...

TBC...

TPW: Well, there it is, ladies and gentlemen! Another well wrote chapter posted! Sorry it took so long posting it up. I had other stories to start. And was having a little bit of writer's block.

Bobby: Just admit it: You have AAD and everybody will be fine again.

Logan: That's about right.

Scott: I don't like how you made me out to be a bad guy in this chapter. I'm not that evil, am I?

TPW: Well, no, but I just wanted to make a fight scene at least once in the story, and I happened to want to use you and Zero.

Bobby: I gotta admit though. She sure knocked Cyclops down a few pegs.

Logan: It was shameful. A man getting beaten up by a little girl half his size.

TPW: Alright, already! Leave the man alone or I'll turn Zero on you two next!

TPW: I'd like to thank my faithful sidekick for the help in this chapter. I know we agreed on one song, but I heard that song at work, and thought it would be better for this chapter. You had some good songs, and I might actually use them in my future chapters. And thanks to all the other readers who reviewed. They mean a lot to me!

Peace out!


	5. Fool's Game

Wolf: I'm sorry I haven't been updating ZT, but I did update my other story! Don't I get brownie points for that?

Kurt: *folds his arms over his chest* No! No brownie points for not updating us! Bad, bad, Paper Wolf! *starts smacking wolf with a rolled up news paper*

Wolf: *takes the paper and beats Kurt with it* Hey, you ungrateful brat! I was doing you a favor and keeping your other half preoccupied with Dakota! Don't hate me because you were a rotten teen with ADHD!

Kurt: *growls and chases after wolf* Take that back!

Logan: These two haven't seen each other for a few months and they're already fighting each other?

Kitty: Yup. -.-

Storm: I guess that means one of us has to do it, doesn't it?

Everyone: *stares at Scott*

Scott: What? Why me? Aren't I getting punished enough for this?

Everyone: *folds arms over their chests*

Scott: *sighs* Alright already! *clears throat and turns to the audience* The Paper Wolf doesn't own Wolverine and the X-Men. She just owns this story and Allyce. Even though you might want to sue, you won't get any money. It's a sad fact, but she's broke.

Wolf: *staggers back towards the group* Please… *pant, pant* read and *wheeze wheeze* review… and always… *cough cough*

Everyone: Smile until you stop! We get it already!

Chapter Five: Fool's Game

_I feel like there's something inside me…_

_I've been keeping a closed lid on it for quite some time now…_

_But it's just not worth it anymore!_

_You better start believing in nightmares…_

_You're in one!_

_And it's a long way till dawn…_

Zero stood outside of the mansion as she stared out into the back yard; looking over at the large pool below. She stood up on the concrete wall like a living statue; never moving save for the freezing wind that blew through her hair. She hadn't made a move that would suggest that she'd jump, so it was okay to say that she wasn't going to try anything unthinkable. She had been standing there since her afternoon training session with Scott. She didn't know exactly how long she had stayed out there when she made her way out of the infirmary after Beast took care of her injuries, but she knew it had to be for a while because the sun was setting and the temperature was dropping. She heard apology after apology since she made her way out of the Danger Room. It was like Scott was a bad guy now or something, but Zero just waved them off and told them not to worry about it – saying that's she's been treated worse.

The others have tried to get her inside from the cold and have something to eat, but all efforts proved to be in vain. She wouldn't budge. Not for anyone. Not even Kurt could get her to come inside without using force. He actually tried to teleport Zero inside to the kitchen, but Zero walked right back out the door. He had to give up after the first few tries.

He was beginning to get angry with himself and Scott for Zero's behavior. He was angry with Scott for putting his friend through all the trouble to control her powers, but he was angrier with himself for not stepping in when he knew something was wrong. It just wasn't fair!

'_**This is my December…**_

_**This is my time of the year…**_

_**This is my December…**_

_**This is all so clear…**_

_**This is my December…**_

_**This is my snow covered home…**_

_**This is my December…**_

_**This is my all alone…'**_

Ororo had tried to coax the girl into coming inside, but even though her gentle personality worked with the others she's come across, it didn't seem to effect Zero at all. Emma had read the girl's mind and told the others to leave her alone and that she'll come inside when she's good and ready to, but no one would listen to her. Kitty had taken a stab at talking to the girl, but she remained silent; keeping her mouth closed against her friend's wishes. Bobby even tried making the girl laugh with his corny jokes and laid back attitude, but even he wasn't enough able to break the girl's silence or unbreakable shell. Logan eventually tried to get the girl to come inside from the cold, but gave up after she broke free from his vice like grip. It was the first sign of retaliation that she has shown since her session. Things were not looking good for the girl, but Logan couldn't do anything about it if Zero was unwilling to cooperate. He sighed and went off somewhere ; giving up all hope of reaching her.

**Scott finally came out of his room** and wondered through the halls after a few hours of sulking. He didn't think he did anything wrong when he was helping Zero gain control over her powers. He didn't really want her to live the life of an X-Man, but since she proved that she was capable of taking care of herself, there wasn't much he could do about it now. He also knew that he'd be working with a bitter Zero from now on, too. That didn't sound too good on his part, but it that's the way the others wanted it; then who was he to stop them?

He finally made his way over towards the back of the mansion, and found the trio standing outside of the door leading to the balcony. He soon regretted walking over when he saw what they were staring at. It was Zero standing against the wall with her back turned towards them. He could tell she was still sore about what had happened in the Danger Room, and now started to feel slightly guilty as he now knew the damage he had caused.

Even though he hadn't seen many sides to the girl, he had never seen her behave so dramatically. It was like she was a totally different person than the little girl he had seen wondering about the place with the others. Zero now looked slightly scary.

She was tensed up and gripping the wall in front of her. She didn't move from her spot or slouch, or anything normal teenagers who would throw a fit when something didn't go their way. She just stood as still as a statue; like she wasn't alive anymore. It was actually a slightly unnerving sight.

'_**And I…**_

_**(I just wish that I didn't feel like there was something I missed.)**_

_**And I…**_

_**(Take back all the things that I said to make you feel like that.)**_

_**And I…**_

_**(Just wish that I didn't feel like there was something I missed.)**_

_**And I… **_

_**(Take back all the things that I said to make you.)**_

_**And I…'**_

Kurt noticed that Scott was standing before them, and narrowed his eyes at him. His two fingered hands rolled into fight fists at him. It was almost as if he was getting ready to attack. How dare he show himself after what had caused the poor girl? She hadn't done anything to him!

He may have felt unbridled anger and rage towards Scott for what he's done, but he held it in and relaxed slightly, but the look on his face told him otherwise…

"What is she doing out there?" Scott asked in a hollow tone; already guessing at the possible answer.

Bobby shrugged his shoulders and gave him a blank stare. "How should we know? She hasn't come inside since early this afternoon." He answered in a puzzled tone; looking back at the girl outside.

"We've tried to get her to come inside, but she just won't do it." Kitty said in a worried tone; following Bobby's example and looked out towards Zero. "Kurt and Logan had tried to remove her from where she is, but she just goes right back out to that spot."

"And she won't even say a word to anyone…" He said in a nasty tone; giving Scott his ugliest glare. He knew why Zero was acting out, but he was going to be the better man and keep it secret so Scott could keep his pride.

Scott gave the trio a surprised look before he looked over at Zero with concern in his eyes now. He knew Zero was upset with him about the whole training session this afternoon, he never guessed she would be this upset. He only wanted to prove his point, not make her hate him!

'_**Give it all away!**_

_**Just to have somewhere to go to!**_

_**Give it all away!**_

_**To have someone to go home to!'**_

Zero sighed and looked down at her hands. One had an ugly scar running across the palm, and crisscross scars on the girl's lower arm. Both scars brought up the nasty car accident that changed her life, and a few stray tears dropped from her red eyes. She then closed her hands into tight fists and drew blood from her palms; dripping out onto the concrete wall she was standing on. It didn't take a genius to figure out that Scott stirred up some rather… unpleasant memories.

She knew she shouldn't be mad at Scott – he was only trying to help her control her powers before she ended up hurting herself or someone else, but he didn't have to go an hurt her feelings the way he did. It just wasn't fair!

Zero already knew that the trio was standing outside watching her, she could feel their concern and worry growing by the second, and she had half a mind to turn around or call out for them to leave her alone, but she remained as she was. She stayed right where she stood and kept her focus on the landscape before her. She didn't need to worry about how they felt; she was dealing with things the best way she knew how – thinking them over before she decided anything. She still had a lot to think about after all.

Kurt clenched his fists tightly and sent Scott an evil glare. "Ve have all tried talking to her, here Scott," he said through gritted fangs, "vhy don't you try?"

Bobby and Kitty looked over at the older man staring at the elf with shock on his face. "I don't think that would be such a great idea, guys. She doesn't like too well. Maybe we should just leave her alone and let her get over whatever's bothering her on her own?"

Kurt growled and puffed out his chest in defiance. "It's vorth a shot…" He growled in a warning tone as his tail darted side to side. "Ve have tried everything else."

"She'll get sick if she doesn't come inside soon." Bobby said in a worried tone. "Even I know that, and I walk outside in the lower temperatures without a shirt on!"

" And it's getting closer to Christmas by the day! I don't want Zero lying in a sick bed while we're enjoying the holidays!" Kitty said in a final tone as she Scott a pleading looking.

Scott groaned and hung his head in defeat. "Alright, alright, I'll talk to her." He said in a slightly mournful tone. He knew Zero guessed Zero would still be sore with him about their session, but he really didn't want to face her when she was mad. "Just don't be late for my funeral…"

'_**This is my December…**_

_**These are my snow covered trees…**_

_**This is me pretending...**_

_**This is all I need!'**_

Scott carefully made his way over towards the girl standing on the concrete wall. She made no signs of being aware of Scott walking towards her. She just kept her eyes on the landscape.

"I know you're there, Scott…" Zero said in an unpleasant tone; not breaking her focus. "And I don't like being watched or worried over."

Scott sighed, and made his way over towards the wall; leaning against it as he joined the girl. "It's quite the view, isn't it?" He asked in a pleasing tone; hoping she wouldn't try to get away from him and falling off the wall in the process. "I used to come here when I was your age when I wanted to be alone. To think about things that bothered me."

Zero sighed and closed her eyes. "Why have you come here? Do you enjoy pouring salt on wounds? I've had my fill of you for one day." She said in a flat tone; not bothering to look down at the man beside her. "I'm perfectly fine, I just need to calm down a little more and I'll be back inside before anyone knows it."

"That maybe true, Zero," Scott said in a knowing tone; looking up at the girl. "but why not just go to your room to cool off? It's warmer there anyway." He reasoned in a concerned tone.

'_**And I…**_

_**(I just wish that I didn't feel like there was something I missed.)**_

_**And I…**_

_**(Take back all the things that I said to make you feel like that.)**_

_**And I…**_

_**(Just wish that I didn't feel like there was something I missed.)**_

_**And I… **_

_**(Take back all the things that I said to make you.)**_

_**And I…'**_

"If this is your idea of making me feel better, then save it and from the emotions of the others, I'd say they've heard it, too." Zero said coldly as she watched a few birds fly into the sky. "The more people come out here and bother me, the longer it will take me to get things in order and calm down. I'm still upset about what happened earlier today you know."

Scott rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. "I know you're mad at me, Zero, but you have to understand the danger of not having your powers in control. You could end up hurting someone or yourself if you're not too careful."

Zero sighed and clenched her fists tightly again. "I know the risks, but the stunt you pulled isn't the way to go about control of your powers. Not for me at least. I've had these powers for a long time before I came here." She whispered in a bitter tone, "It's not my fault I have no control over my empathy."

Scott sighed and hung his head in shame. "Emma told me that you can't control your empathy because of the car accident. I understand how you feel and what that is like."

Zero finally turned her eyes towards Scott with a condemning look. "How would you know? You have your visor and sunglasses. You have complete and total control over your powers!" She hissed in a venomous tone.

"I was orphaned when the family plan crashed. I can't just take off my glasses and be normal like the others." Scott told the girl in a hollow tone; leaning onto the wall and looking out to see the landscape. "So, we're not so different from each other."

'_**Give it all away!**_

_**Just to have somewhere to go to!**_

_**Give it all away!**_

_**To have someone to go home to!'**_

Zero looked over at Scott with a surprised look on her face as she watched him looking out onto the grounds. He looked much differently at the moment, and it made Zero take another look. He looked so sad when he thought back on his life, and it showed up on his face. Zero could only imagine how he must feel about topics like these.

"I get. You were only trying to help me, but your methods are a little rough for a girl." Zero said in a reasoning tone as she sent the man beside her a gentle glare. "I may have some athletic capabilities, but that was no excuse to be so harsh. You brought up a lot of ugly memories and it still hurts."

Scott looked over to the girl and gave her an understanding nod. "I know and I'm very sorry. I should've have treated you like that, Zero. Between you and me, I think you had it a lot harder than I did." He said in a sad tone; offering the girl beside him a weak smile. "It's not fair that you had to go through all of that alone. If I had known our training session would turn out the way it did, I would've done something else to help you. I didn't know I was going to open a can of worms like that."

Zero relaxed her figure and folded her arms over her chest. "I have no use for apologies, Scott." She muttered under her breath, looking up at the sky to see that it was now starting to snow. "Apologies are something of a rarity in my time, so I don't need them. I had to learn that lesson the hard way and here is no different."

"But it's still nice to know that someone is remorseful after doing you wrong." Scott chimed in as he placed a hand on her shoulder; causing her to look up. "I think you've come a long way since you creamed me and Kurt earlier, and I promise that the next time we have a go in the Danger Room, which from the pounding you gave me, I hope won't be anytime soon, but when we ever do have another round, I promise it will be different for you. And less painful for me, okay?"

Zero gave Scott an arrogant smirk and a nod. "You've got yourself a wager, Scott! I'll be more than happy to show you the floor next time!" She said in a pleasing tone as she offered him a happy smile.

Scott smiled in return and turned to walk back into the house. He stopped and looked over his shoulder and gave Zero a playful smile. "I know you already know this, but everyone is worried about you, Z. You don't have to come inside any time soon if you don't want to, but wouldn't it be nice to come inside and help Bobby and Kitty with the Christmas decorations? It'd be fun and if you'd like we could talk… or maybe play chess. I know you like the game and all."

Zero smiled weakly at Scott, but gave him a slight nod. "If you can get those mother hens to stop worrying about me long enough, I might actually be in before Kitty gets started pulling out the decorations." She retorted playfully to herself as she didn't take her eyes off the scenery before her. "I'm still mad at you, you know."

Scott chuckled at the girl and placed his larger hand on the top of her head; messing it up as he rubbed it gently. "I know. And I'd be mad, too." He answered before he made his way into the mansion; leaving the girl to her thoughts.

'_**Give it all away!**_

_**Just to have somewhere to go to!**_

_**Give it all away!**_

_**To have someone to go home to!'**_

_**The trio watched as Scott made his way inside**_, and stopped him from leaving them by bombarding him with all kinds of questions.

"Is she still mad?" Kitty asked in an expecting tone; crossing her arms over her chest and began tapping her foot at the man before her.

"Is she gonna come back inside soon?" Bobby added in a worried tone; looking out to the girl.

"Vill she be alright now?" Kurt asked in a cold tone; keeping his eyes on the taller man.

Scott took a shocked step back and__held his hands up in defense. "She's still mad at me. And she'll be inside as soon as she calms down, but with everyone one worrying over her won't help her. So, I think it's best if we all just leave her alone for a little while longer." Scott said in a reasoning tone as he looked outside towards Zero.

After a few moments, everyone decided it was for the best, and went on their separate ways.

"Well, the longer we wait for Zero to come around, the longer we'll have to wait to putting up the decorations. I'm going to go get them at least." Kitty said in a mind set tone; turning on her heel to go collect the decorations.

"I'll come, too! Those boxes seem to get heavier every year!" Bobby chimed in; rushing over towards Kitty.

"That's the spirit. Once you've set up the boxes, I'm sure Zero will be ready to come inside and join the fun." Scott said in a friendly tone; giving the two a small smile.

The two left the room and Kurt waited until they left before he turned towards Scott. "She voodn't be in zis mess if it veren't for you." He said in a nasty snarl.

"I know. I screwed up. I went outside and apologized to her. She told me that she'll be alright if we all don't bother her and let her calm down on her own." Scott said in a rough tone; turning away from the blue demon. "I realize I shouldn't have treated her like I did, and I feel really bad for it. Isn't that enough?"

Kurt didn't say anything about the subject, he just teleported away from the man, and made his way into his room. Still sore at Scott for the harsh training he brought upon Zero earlier that day…

Wolf: Okay. Now, I'm officially out of ideas for this story. It's only just started in going downhill. But for all you Kurt fans out there who love to see some major fluffy between the two, I need some ideas. Please feel free to send them in PM if you'd like to see your idea in my story.

Bobby: And what about Christmas? You do realize that it's almost Easter, right? Shouldn't you be doing a chapter for Easter?

Wolf: -.- We've already been through this, Bobby! I like winter. And what's the first holiday that is considered romantic in winter? I'll give you three guesses and the first two won't count.

Bobby: *scratches head* Christmas?

Everyone: *face palms* Now he gets it.

Emma: So Wolf has a thing for the cold? Well, I guess it's true what they say about people born in the winter. They really do prefer winter overall. I'm not surprised. You are born in January.

Beast: She drops off major hints in ALL her stories that let's her readers know when her birthday is. She does leave all kinds of hidden messages in them, as well. I wouldn't be surprised if no one picks up on them.

Wolf: Would Beast like to be shaved in the next chapter? No? Then shut up and sit down!

Beast: *yelps and runs away*

Wolf: :-P My bark is worse than my bite. Please enjoy your stay at ZT and kindly review. I always enjoy positive feedback, but absolutely hate any negativity, and will kindly use them as target practice. ^_^. I'm always open for any ideas, and will do my best to use them in my future chapters. Just PM me and let me know what you think!

_**And always, smile until you stop…**_

_** TPW**_


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